Baranavichy: Court Upholds Prohibition of Pickets against Repeal of Social Benefits
On 11 January the court of Baranavichy and Baranavichy district turned down the suit of an activist of the united democratic forces, member of the Party of Communists Belarusian, engineer Viktar Tsiapin against the ruling of Baranavichy city executive committee concerning the order of holding mass actions in the region.
‘The court did not motivate its verdict. I will appeal against it to a higher instance’, stated V.Tsiapin.
He filed the suit after it was prohibited to him to hold a picket against the repeal of the social benefits on 16 December 2007. Bear in mind that the city authorities received 11 applications for picketing on 16 December, and gave similar refusals in all cases.
In the committee’s answer it was stated that his application for picket was not satisfied because he did not implement the committee’s demands concerning the order of holding such actions – he did not conclude agreements with juridical bodies for cleaning of the territory after the action, protection of public order and medical serving during the picketing.
‘In my suit I stated that such demands are non-constitutional’, says Tsiapin. ‘They deliberately deprive those who have no money to pay for such services of their right to organize mass actions, which is guaranteed by the Constitution.’
