Hearing of closure suit against Union of Belarusian Writers postponed again :: Charter'97 :: News

The hearing of the justice ministry`s suit for the closure of the Union of Belarusian Writers (UBW) has been postponed again at the request of the Union.

The hearing was to start in the Supreme Court on April 13, but UBW Chairman Ales Pashkevich asked Judge Igor Milto to adjourn it because their lawyer was busy.

The Union appealed to the judge to postpone the hearing on April 6, citing the same reason. The organization reportedly had to hire the member of the Minsk City Bar Association after its legal expert Dmitry Filimonchik refused to represent the Union several days before the hearing.

Mr. Pashkevich on Thursday showed the judge the contract with the Minsk City Bar Association and a pay slip indicating that the UBW paid the lawyer for the services.

The judge postponed the hearing until April 24, noting that the date is yet to be finalized after April 20.

The ministry accuses the Union of using the banned emblem Pahonya in its plate at the entrance to its office at the House of Writers and using for four months a stamp featuring the Union`s name without inverted commas. Other grounds for the closure include the lack of the original of the UBW charter and a conference held by the Belarusian Social Democratic Party "Hramada" (BSDP) in the summer of 2005 at the cafeteria of the House of Writers.