Court dismisses Viktar Syrytsa's claim to the state-owned newspaper “Nash Krai”
On
27 August the Baranavichy City and District Court turned
down the appeal of the social activist Viktar Syrytsa against the
newspaper.
As we have already
written, Viktar Syrytsa filed a lawsuit against the state-owned
newspaper "Nash Krai”, which on 30 May had published an
announcement about a cultural event in honor of the insurgents of
1863 which was to have taken place near the Milavidy monuments.
Having read about this official event, Mr. Syrytsa ordered a bus and
organized a journey of amateurs of history to this cultural feast on
2 June. However, nobody was present near the Milavidy monuments at
12.30 a.m. on 2 June. That's why the social activist and went to
court.
He argued that the newspaper "Nash Krai"
didn't provide any information about the organizer of this cultural
event. The newspaper also lacked information about the specifics of
the planned event, the name and location of the legal entity, etc.
That's why Mr. Syrytsa demanded that the court oblige the newspaper
to publish a refutation, indicating that invalid information about
the event in honor of insurgents of 1863 was published on 30 May
2013. Moreover, the public activist demanded that the court exacted
from the newspaper a compensation for the loss incurred by him as a
result of renting a bus – 2.3 million rubles, and also exact from
the newspaper the court fee he paid to file his appeal.
The
defendant, chief editor of the newspaper “Nash Krai” Mikhail
Shubich, stated to the court, that the newspaper had published the
information received from the culture department of the Baranavichy
District Executive Committee. The representatives of the executive
committee Dzmitry Varvashenia and Tatsiana Yeumiankova admitted at
the trial that they had hadn't timely published in the newspaper any
information about the postponement of the announced event. However,
the officials tried to convince the court that they had done
everything possible to warn the people about the postponement of the
even in honor of the insurgents of 1863, However, the representatives
of the local authorities did not report exactly how they did
it.
During all three court sittings Judge Volha Apanovich
pretended that she was trying to seriously and professionally
discriminate in this civil case,. However, in the end she completely
dismissed the claim of Viktar Syrytsa to the state-owned newspaper
“Nash Krai”.
“All those present at the trial
could see again that our judges are highly dependent on the executive
authorities. Such a court will never be able to make an objective
decision and will always comply with the state officials, not judging
according to the law,” stated Mr. Syrytsa.