Local Councilor Fined

18.08.2004.

On August 17 Yuras Ziankovich, activist of the Belarusian Popular Front Party and councilor of Minsk district council, was fined 5 basic units (USD 45). This decision was made by the court of the Soviet district of Minsk.
Yuras Ziankovich was accused of disobedience to a police officer on July 21 during the protest action dedicated to the 10-year term of Lukashenka’s presidency. He refused to open his van for the police officer to examine, and showed his ID of a local councilor.
According to witnesses, the police officers produced different reasons for detention: allegedly, they suspected his councilor ID was forged, or that the license plate on his van was invalid.
In Savetski police board keys of his van and his ID were seized. The police examined the van and confiscated leaflets of the People’s Coalition Five Plus. The ID was returned to the owner only in court. A police officer told that allegedly a leaflet had fallen out of Zyankovich’s car, and that was the justification for the car search. Ziankovich did not agree with that explanation.
Judge Natalla Skuharova fined Ziankovich USD 45 despite the fact that the case fell to pieces.
Yuras Ziankovich plans to file a complaint to Minsk city court, reports BPF press-service.