Hrodna Regional Court to consider case on extremism in "Press-photo Belarus 2011" on 24 June

The Hrodna Regional Court will consider the appeal of Belarus Press Photo-2011 contest on 24 June. The photo albums of the yearly national photo competition were found extremist by court of Ashmiany on 18 April; if the decision is upheld on appeal, 41 copies of the albums will be destroyed.

Also the decision of the court of first instance states that the legal expenses must be paid by the organizers of the contest, photographers Yuliya Darashkevich, Aliaksandr Vasiukovich and Vadzim Zamirouski – the state tax of 200,000 rubles plus 17,500 of costs per each (around 21-22 euro).

The photographers, who were “interested parties” in the case, strongly disagree with the court decision. They demand that the court ruling must be upturned, the good name of the contest must be restored and the albums must be given back to the owners.

We remind that the albums were confiscated in November 2012 when the photographers were coming back from abroad exhibitions. The contest is held yearly, the finalists are chosen by an independent jury of international experts. The works for the contest are submitted by the authors; the main condition is that the photos submitted have to be published in periodic media or in news feeds of informational agencies within the year. The album is exhibited and sold in Belarus and abroad.