On April 12, in the Viciebsk regional court, journalist of Belsat TV channel Yekaterina Bakhvalova and correspondent of Radio Liberty Galina Abakunchik tried to appeal against the decisions of the judges of the court of Vorša district and the city of Vorša on March 13 of this year. Representatives of the press were detained the day before and fined for covering the rally and the procession of non-homeless people in Vorša.
Kateryna Bakhvalova's complaint against the decision of the lower court, to which she was brought to administrative responsibility, was examined by Judge Irina Smolyakova. The Vorša court found the journalist guilty of illegally manufacturing and distributing media products (online broadcasts on the global network), as well as disobeying the lawful demands of police officers while they were performing their official duties. According to the second part of Article 22.9 and Article 23.4 of the Code of Administrative Offenses on the totality of offenses committed by journalist Belsat TV channel on March 13, the court sentenced her to a fine of 30 basic units.
In her complaint to the Viciebsk Regional Court, the journalist noted that she does not agree with the court's decision, as it does not comply with the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. She also expressed the opinion that the court did not clarify the objective side of the accusations brought against her.
Having examined the materials of the case and, as Judge Smolyakova noted, "no one heard" (the journalist did not appear at the trial), the court decided to leave unchanged the decision of the judge of the Vorša district court and the city of Vorša against Yekaterina Bakhvalova, and her complaint – without satisfaction. The process lasted less than five minutes.
Galina Abakunchik, who was accused of participating in an unsanctioned event (part 1 of Article 23.34), came to the trial, but no arguments or arguments on her part to judge Svetlana Ivanova's decision were affected. The judge considered that the presence of Galina at the rally, recorded on the operational video, is a sufficient reason to leave the Vorša court decision unchanged, and the complaint is not satisfied.
After the trial Galina Abakunchik shared her impressions:
– To say that something has struck something, so it is not, because I know the judicial system well. It's not the court that works, the order works here. Where it comes from is another matter. We can only guess. His arguments do not lead the court, he searches for them in those far-fetched, unreasonable materials of the case, so that at least for some reason he can catch on and leave the previous decision in force.
In a sense, judges can even be pitied. These iniquities that are happening now can not pass without a trace. They remain in the documents, souls and destinies of people. Those structures that must protect civil rights and laws, violate them roughly, create such lawlessness. It seems to me that this will return to these structures, and will not return in the best possible way.
Today, for the first time, I got acquainted with the materials of my case and I was surprised at the fact that the dossier was collected there, almost from birth. This is how many people were involved! A whole army of siloviki for the people's money creates lawlessness. And it's scary! Not literally – the scales of evil are terrible! But do not be afraid of him. We are in our country, and we must conquer this evil, because we are right. And whatever the trampled truth is, it will ascend! Let them be afraid!
S. Horki
