Independent Newspaper to be Pulped :: Charter'97 :: News

A deputy chairman of the United Civil Party Ihar Shynkaryk has received a decree No. 1 of Information Ministry “On Termination of administrative case” dated by March 30 and signed by a deputy minister Ihar Laptsyonak. It has been decided to terminate the administrative case against I. Shynkaryk, however a 50,000 print run of the newspaper “Freedom to Belarus” is to be pulped.

As we have informed, Shynkaryk was detained on March 7 when he was driving a car with about 50,000 copies of the newspaper “Freedom to Belarus” (a bulletin of the National Committee of democratic forces). The newspaper was dedicated to the oil and gas conflict of Russia and Belarus. I. Shynkaryk escorted by a police car was taken to the police department of Minsk regional executive committee. He was released after providing explanations.

Information Ministry admits that “there were no administrative violations in the actions of Ihar Shynkaryk”. The decree states that “the fact of dissemination of periodicals without imprint was not taking place”.

According to the decree, “printed materials without imprint are subject to destruction as it does not comply with the requirements of the law of the Republic of Belarus “On Press and Other Mass Media” and cannot be distributed at the territory of Belarus”.

Ihar Shykraryk underlines that there was imprint on the newspaper “Freedom to Belarus”. It was printed at Smolensk Printing and Publishing.