"Babruiski kur'er" journalists' trial is to continue on may 3

28.04.2006.

The hearing of the cases of two journalists from an independent newspaper "Babruiski kur’er" detained on April 25 will continue on May 3 at 2.30 p.m. The edition's editor-in-chief Anatol Sanatsenka is sure that the police wanted to prevent the journalists from participation in "Charnobylski Shliakh" in Minsk.
The judge postponed the hearing because witnesses for the prosecution did not appear before the court. A. Sanatsenka also says that the deputy head of the Leninski borough police office of Babruisk Siarhey Hlushko visited the judge twice before the trial: that it why the hearing was delayed for 20 minutes. He also talked to the witnesses for a long time and they later claimed that the journalists had been using bad language in the street and had not paid attention to the remarks of the police.
"The journalists were detained because the police did not want them to attend "Charnobylski Shliakh" ", - says A. Sanatsenka. On April 25 the journalists noticed they were being watched.
The editor also said that only one car with journalists managed to leave Babruisk on April 26. "The same things happened on March 19 and 25. But now more police officers were involved in it ".
Let us remind you that hat two journalists from an independent newspaper "Babruiski Kur’er" had been detained in Babruisk before the meeting. They are accused of violating art 156 of the Administrative Code and they will stand trial today.
The editor-in-chief of "Babruiski Kur’er" Mikhalai Sanatsenka informed BAJ that the edition's freelance reporters Mikita Bytsenka and Iury Svieliakou had been stopped by the police in the street on April 25. Their documents were checked and then the journalists were allowed to go. But a bit later the policemen received a phone call and detained the journalists.
Mikita Bytsenka and Iury Svieliakou stayed at the police office till April 26 and were released at 1 p.m. During the hearing of their case (on the evening of April 26) they found out that they were accused of misdemeanor (bad language during the detention). Neither Mikita Bytsenka nor Iury Svieliakou pled guilty. The trial was postponed till April 27 because witnesses for the prosecution did not appear before the court.
Source: The BAJ Press Service