Baranavichy activist appeals decision on Milavidy Festival

Civil society activist Viktar Syrytsa filed on Saturday a complaint to the chairman of the Brest Regional Court to appeal a ruling by the district and city court of Baranavichy of July 31, 2013 and a ruling of the Brest Regional Court of August 29, 2013 in the case of Milavidy Festival. On July 31, Judge Katsiaryna Hruda found the activist guilty of planning and organizing an unsanctioned rally in the town of Milavidy on June 2 (Part 2 of Art. 23.34 of the Administrative Code) and ruled to sentence him to a fine of 2.6 mln rubles. Judge Natallia Surma of the Brest Regional Court later upheld the decision of the trial court.

In his complaint, the activist says that the judgment was one-sided and based on biased data. Viktar Syrytsa argues that there was no unauthorized mass event, and what he did was an organized trip of people on an official holiday, announced by the state-run newspaper "Nash Krai” (“Our Land").

The activist also believes that clarification of the circumstances was incomplete, which, according to Art. 12-14.1 of the Procedural Executive Code of Administrative Offences, is grounds for revocation of the judgment. According to Viktar Syrytsa, the court did not take into account a paper signed by 9 people. The absence of an offense is also evidenced by a written instruction of the local Prosecutor’s Office for the district police department, which was also ignored by the court.

Viktar Syrytsa urges the Chairman of the Brest Regional Court to cancel the ruling of the district court and that of the Brest Regional Court and to close the administrative proceedings due to lack of elements of an administrative offense in his actions.