Homel: the trial concerning the expulsion of Andrei Tsianiuta from university is delayed for inviting an interpreter

On September 12, the Tsentralny District Court of Homel started hearing a civil case of the co-chair of the "Young Front" Andrei Tsianiuta.

In May 2014 he was expelled from the Homel State University named after Frantsysk Skaryna, where he studied by correspondence in the third year on the specialty "Jurisprudence". The official reason, stated in the order for his expulsion, signed by the rector, is "systematic illegal actions in accordance with the Education Code and the internal rules". This denotes the ten-day administrative arrest, serve by the activist for alleged use of foul language and disobedience to demands of police officers. The activist, in his turn, states that he was arrested preventively on the eve of the International Hockey Championship in Minsk. Bear in mind that before the beginning of the championship, dozens of opposition activists were imprisoned under fabricated charges of disorderly conduct or disobedience to police.

A. Tsianiuta considers his expulsion as illegal and political motivation. Therefore he sued the university.

The case is considered by Judge Volha Kazlova. Mr. Tsianiuta made a motion for the conduct of the trial in the Belarusian language in order to exercise his right, guaranteed by the Constitution. The judge replied that the young man had enough command of the Russian language, therefore there was no need to conduct the trial in Belarusian or invite an interpreter. Andrei Tsianiuta disagreed with this stance, as a result of which the judge granted the motion and postponed the trial to September 16 due to the need to invite an interpreter.

It should be added that according to the Belarusian legislation state officials must have sufficient command of both official languages within the limits of their office powers. In fact, interpreters are invited to trials in Homel, as far the judges are unable to lead trials in Belarusian.