Mazyr court fines Internet user

On 16 August, Mazyr District Court fined local resident Mikhail Karatkevich BYR 105,000 for reporting on a “silent protest” in his social network account, the BelaPAN news agency reports.

According to a police report, Mr. Karatkevich “re-posted an appeal to gather each Wednesday in Mazyr’s Lenin Square and by doing this contributed to the organization of a mass event, violating legal procedures.”

Local human rights defender Uladzimir Tseliapun says the court viewed the social network as mass media open to public and therefore fined Mikhail Karatkevich.