Homel human rights defender demands compensation for four illegal administrative penalties
Leanid Sudalenka
Homel human rights defender Leanid Sudalenka filed a lawsuit to Tsentralny District Court to demand moral damages in the amount of 29 million rubles from head of the Chief Finance Department of Homel region. He also asks to recover court fees and the administrative penalty of 600,000 rubles.
In his lawsuit, the applicant writes that in June 2011 Bykhau traffic police (Mahiliou region) charged him with speeding. As a result, he was fined, which the human rights defender appealed. The illegality of the decision was confirmed by the Court of Homel Chuhynachny district in October 2011. However, in November 2011 the traffic police repeatedly charged Leanid Sudalenka with an administrative offence. In December the decision was again found illegal by the court. The situation repeated in February, when the road police again accused the human rights defender of violating traffic rules. The case reached the Regional Court. Finally, in June 2012, the traffic police again, for the fourth time, charged the human rights defender.
In November 2012, the chairman of the Supreme Court reversed all the previous rulings in the case and sent the case file to the traffic police for a fifth review.
In February 2013, the case was dismissed with the expiration of statute of limitations.
Leanid Sudalenka believes that he has a right to compensation for material and moral damages, which he suffered as a result of the illegal actions of police officials.
"Repeated unlawful bringing to administrative responsibility humiliated my human and civil dignity, forced me over a long period of time to feel my vulnerability to arbitrary actions of the government agencies, to question the validity of the principle of the rule of law and justice. Within a year and a half, I was forced to appear at the Homel regional police department to extend the temporary driving permit, and thus faced the conditions of despair and hopelessness," stressed the human rights defender in his lawsuit.
