Heorhi Stankevich fined 1,4 million rubles

Heorhi Stankevich, editor of the small-circulation newspaper “Kryvinka”, distributed in the Beshankovichy district, was charged with violation of the distribution rules. He was to have been tried for it on 4 January. However, Heorhi didn't manage to come due to an illness.

However, Volha Belavus, Judge of the Beshankovich District Court, ignored his sick leave and stated her readiness to hold the trial on 6 January in any case, as otherwise the two-month term for his punishment would expire. Mr. Stankevich came to the trial, but then left it to protest against the total lawlessness.

In particular, the judge didn’t allow Stankevich’s counsel to take part in the trial and proposed to invite a state lawyer instead. The teacher of the Belarusian language who was invited to the trial as an interpreter had no skills of synchronous interpreting from Russian into Belarusian and vice-versa.

Mr. Stankevich had been detained on 5 November, allegedly after a call of two residents of Beshankovichy to the local police department. On 5 December the Beshankovichy District Court found that the violation report had been composed in the wrong way and returned it to the police.