Belarusian court slaps fine on human rights activist :: Charter'97 :: News

Judge Yuliya Lukomskaya of Minsk`s Frunzenski district court on 29 January imposed a fine of 3.5m roubles [approximately 1,620 dollars] on opposition activist Aksana Novikava for staging an unauthorized demonstration in front of the Supreme Court`s building on 11 December 2003. The woman declared no confidence in the judge and refused to speak at her trial. Novikava, who is unemployed and has a daughter aged two years and eight months, received three fines totalling thousands of US dollars for similar offences in the past.

The activist said in an interview with Belapan that she was not going to pay the fine. She described the ruling as an intimidation attempt ahead of the parliamentary elections to be held this autumn.

Not long ago, a district judge postponed the hearing, originally scheduled for 17 January, of a complaint by the Frunzenski district police directorate, which wanted Novikava imprisoned for her alleged failure to comply with probation rules.

She was given a two-year suspended prison sentence and two years` probation in April 2003 for distributing leaflets that allegedly defamed Belarusian leader Alyaksandr Lukashenka.

According to her, the case was forwarded to a district penal commission, which is to decide whether she is eligible for the amnesty declared recently by the government.

On 29 January Novikava received a reply to her appeal to the UN Human Rights Commission in Geneva. "I petitioned international experts to look into my criminal prosecution and establish whether or not it is in violation of human rights and Articles 14 and 19 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. However, the commission cannot yet accept my case for consideration because of a lack of detailed information," she said, adding that she would soon send additional materials to the commission.