Babruisk: court fines Ales Chyhir twice
On 4 November Babruisk town court sentenced Ales Chyhir to pay 900 000 rubles for repairing the car which he had already damaged during an argument with a taxi driver. However, the judge turned down the driver’s lawsuit for compensation of moral damages.
The reason for the court proceedings is an argument between the taxi driver Siarhei Kasilovich and the Chyhirs, whom he drove home one day. Kasilovich demanded too much money from Chyhir and explained it by the numbers in the car’s speedometer, which had been set before the family got into the taxi. Ales Chyhir refused to pay. Then the driver drove the family to the police.
Bear in mind that on 28 July Babruisk court fined Ales Chyhir 2.1 million rubles and sentenced him to ten days of jail. But on 4 November Chyhir was sentenced to pay 900 000 rubles more, thus getting triple punishment for one deed. The real reason for such treatment of the opposition activist is his political activity.
Despite the fines Ales Chyhir is not going to stop his political activities. ‘Doubtlessly, I will go on. However, in this case I am in the state of financial dependence on the state – I owe to it three million rubles, which is almost ten monthly wages for me,’ he said.
Ales Chyhir is the vice-editor of the newspaper Babruiski kuryier. He has three under-aged children and unemployed wife.
