Belaaziorsk activist appeals warning in court

An activist of the "Tell the Truth" campaign from the town of Belaaziorsk, Aliaksandr Kuzmin, is appealing a warning issued to him for acting on behalf of the unregistered organization by Biaroza District Prosecutor's Office and supported by Brest Regional Prosecutor’s Office. Leninski District Court of Brest opened yesterday the first session to consider the activist’s complaint, in which he asks to recognize the warning illegal.

The activist is still sticking to the position that he first laid out in his petition submitted to Biaroza district police department (following a statement by former Chairman of Belaaziorsk town executive committee Viachaslau Dambrouski who demanded that Kuzmin be brought to criminal responsibility for activities on behalf of an unregistered organization), and in his later letters to the prosecuting authorities, which argued that his actions did not violate the law because the "Tell the Truth" campaign is not a public organization, but a civil society initiative. Biaroza district police department actually accepted the position of Aliaksandr Kuzmin, recognizing that his activities had no elements of a crime, but the prosecutor took a different decision.

The Court's decision is expected on September 27.