Vitsesbk: another fine to Barys Khamaida
Vitsebsk activist Barys Khamaida has been fined 105 000 rubles (about $37) for alleged blocking the main street of the city.
On 3 June the administrative commission of Chyhunachny district considered the report drawn up by policemen for violation of article #21.14 of the Administrative Code of Belarus on 7 May. Khamaida was charged with violation of the order of maintenance residential areas (the vendor of independent press hindered passers-by by his 50-centimeter table). Barys Khamaida was detained for the same ‘violation’ on 15 May, Belarusian partisan reports.
The commission also pointed at the contents of the disseminated publications. According one of the participants of the session, the title President’s kisses everywhere is very strange and needs censorship’s examination. The matter concerns the well-known People’s Television by Uladzimir Padhol. The accused, in his turn, had to remind that quotes of Alexander Lukashenka had been collected in that brochure.
The session of the court in the case of B.Khamaida was held in Belarusian with participation of an interpreter. It was the defendant’s demand long before the trial. It was promised that the court verdict would be read out in Belarusian as well.
Vitsebsk human rights watchdog Pavel Levinau believes that the case hasn’t been considered in substance of the article of the Criminal Code. The aim was to punish the activist, and he was punished.
The human rights defender reminded that the Slavonic Bazaar in Vitsebsk is approaching and during this festival the oppositionist is ‘a blemish on the festive landscape’ for high-ranking guests. That’s why he is always taken away from the central street for 10-15 days. The present decision of the administrative commission is a warning, which would be ignored by Barys Khamaida anyway. He said he would come to his usual place tomorrow. What concerns the fine, he said: “I have been already fined millions of rubles and 105 thousand make no difference. Anyway I do not have money to pay.’
