Court Refuses to Rehabilitate at Work Actor Pavel Kharlanchuk

The hearings concerning rehabilitation of the leading actor of the Russian drama theater Pavel Kharlanchuk started on 1 march and continued for several days. On 20 March the judge of Minsk Maskouski borough court Shastakou ruled to consider the actor’s firing legal and thus refused to rehabilitate him at work, though the firing was accompanied with gross law violations.

According to the present labor legislation, in the case a worker does not suit the occupied position the employer must provide another vacancy available at the enterprise and even pay for additional training courses, if needed. The cancellation of a working contract is possible only in the case the worker refuses from the proposed vacancy.

Kharlanchuk’s lawyer made an official inquiry to the theater. The theater really had a vacancy, which wasn’t proposed to the actor by the administration, though he was fired for being ‘unfit for the occupied position’. It again confirms the fact that the administration simply wanted to get rid of Pavel Kharlanchuk because of his public position.

We should remind that in March 2006 Pavel Kharlanchuk was sentenced to 15 days of arrest for participation in a peaceful protest action against the rigged presidential election. In December 2006 he was fired from the theater.