UCP Brest activists file complaint to Supreme Court

The Brest Regional Court upheld a decision of imposing fines on members of the United Civil Party during the election campaign to the local councils. Later, the Chairman of the Court dismissed a supervisory appeal.

According to Uladzimir Vuyek, the fines were imposed after a number of election events, since, according to the city government, their format and venue were not agreed in advance. In particular, Uladzimir Vuyek himself, chairman of the United Civil Party’s regional office, was punished by a fine of 25 basic units, and two more party activists Dyiana Kastsiukovich (she was a candidate for the city council) and Yury Zhydovich were sentenced to fines of 10 basic units each. The Regional Court rejected the appeals of the party members and sided with the trial court.

UCP members did not agree with these conclusions, as they still believe that this decision not only violates their constitutional rights, but also international standards - namely, the Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.

“We intend to go through all the courts in the Republic of Belarus and, if necessary, appeal to the UN Human Rights Committee,” said Uladzimir Vuyek. “We do not agree with the dismissive attitude of our state to the rights of its own citizens, and especially during the election campaign when officials, members of local councils are elected. With such conditions for campaigning, we have serious doubts that these elections were generally free and fair.”