Kletsk: Criminal Case against Underground Press

15.08.2007. Tags: political prisoners, political persecution, Kazulin, pickets, mass media.
Source: Charter`97.

Criminal charges have been brought against the underground publisher of Boiki Kletsk bulletin, democratic activist Siarhei Panamarou. That happened several hours after Panamarou’s submitting an application for a picket in support for the political prisoners.

Siarhei Panamarou. is a well-known person in Kletsk. For several years at his own expense he has been publishing the bulletin dwelling on the democratic opposition activities, on the local Kletsk officials ‘affairs. The criminal case against Panamarou was brought 14 May 2007.

The Article of the Code under which the charges had been brought was not new, i.e. N 188, Part 2 (published slandering). Natallia Semashkevich, head of the legal consulting office, lodged a claim against Siarhei Panamarou. The linguistic expert study of the publication was made which disproved the fact of slandering in Siarhei Panamarou’s publications. 18 June 2007 the criminal case was terminated for lack of crimes. But presently the situation has changed.

-Today I have submitted the application for a picket to the Kletsk district executive soviet today at 8.30 a.m.; Siarhei Panamarou tells the UCP press-service. The picket is targeted at demanding freedom for Aliaksandr Kazulin and other political prisoner’s .My application was accepted. At 12 p.m. I was phoned by the investigator of the Kletsk district department for internal affairs Behanski who ordered me to arrive at the public prosecutor’s office as a suspect. The investigator explained that the decision on termination of the criminal case had been canceled.

According to Siarhei Panamarou, the prosecutor of Kletsk district protested the judgment on closing of the criminal case in the two months time. The activist considers that it’s not a mere coincidence that the public prosecutor’s protest came on the day of Siarhei’s submission of the picket application. On the pages of his bulletin the problems of relationship between the authorities and the population are reflected, legal consulting is performed, communal issues are raised which the local authorities are reluctant to solve.