Tatyana Smotkina and Dmitry Lupach, the court found guilty of illegally manufacturing and distributing media products. Independent journalists were tried for the plot shown on the satellite television channel Belsat, where it was told about the house No. 142 on Lenin Street in Hłybokaje.

Judge Lyudmila Vaschenko decided to punish Tatiana Smotkin with a fine of 25 basic (575 rubles), and Dmitry Lupach – 30 base (690 rubles).

The case against journalists was initiated by the local department of the KGB. It was from there that they gave an order to understand how the information about the five-story building, in which 40 years was not overhauled, got on the Belsat TV channel.

On Dmitry Lupach in the police made two protocols at once. According to police, he violated the law twice, since residents of house No. 142 witnessed that they saw him in the yard two times. The first time one, and the second – together with Tatyana Smotkina.

Tatyana Smotkina is a resident of the house number 142, in which there was no major repair since the construction. And she and her neighbors are really outraged by the situation when they regularly transferred money for repairs, and utility services claim that there is no money. Independent journalist Tatyana Smotkina stressed in court that she had nothing to do with Belsat. The judge did not convince her.

Dmitry Lupach refused to testify at all during the trial, as he was sure that this would not affect the decision.

Both journalists already have punishments for their professional activities, they were brought to administrative responsibility in 2015. Then Hłybokaje court punished Tatiana with a fine of 25 basic for the material "The roads in Glubokom will be positive", posted on the website of the Belarusian Radio Racya (Poland). Dmitry Lupach was fined for the same amount for the article "There were relatives of a border guard who was killed at Hłybokaje district on September 17, 1939", posted on the website of "Euroradio".

Journalists were found guilty of violating media legislation for cooperation with foreign media without accreditation. The journalists were not able to appeal against the verdict of the Glubokoe District Court.

svaboda.org