Trial for entry on Vkontakte page

Proceedings in the administrative case of melioration machines plant worker in Mozyr Mikhail Karatkevich are scheduled for August 4.

At his page in Vkontakte social network he had posted information for personal use about meetings on Lenin Square in Mozyr held every Wednesday at 7 p.m. At the police department a report was drawn up against him for “Violation of the order of organizing or holding mass event or picketing”. The court trial is to be held on August 5 at the noon in the room #306, “Homelskaya Vyasna” informs.

Mikhail Karatkevich placed information with the schedule of rallies on Lenin Square as a note for himself. However the head of a special subdivision of the police department of Mozyr lieutenant-colonel S. Kadol found that this information violates the Administrative Code. On July 11 he summoned Karatkevich for interrogation, and drew up a report of administrative violation on charges relating Article 23.34 Part 1 of the Administrative Code.

Charges against Mikhail Karatkevich are the following: “by the way of forwarding at Vkontakte social network page he disseminated a call about necessity to gather every Wednesday at 7 p.m. on Lenin Square in Mozyr, and thus he committed an action which could be called organizing a mass rally, violating the prescribed order of holding mass events.” Lieutenant colonel Kadol could not explain the “offender” what is the difference between “to post” and “to disseminate”. The policeman also could not name witnesses or persons who received this information, and explain how they used it.

Over June-July, Mikhail Karatkevich and his friends have been detained by policemen of Mozyr 4 times. He was fingerprinted, pictured, his personal things searched without witnesses and a protocol. Pressure was exerted on him at his place of work: he was summoned to the ideology department of his plant, and offered to write a notice he leaves “of his own accord”.

Mikhail Karatkevich has filed an application to prosecutor V. Sushchynski concerning the facts of prosecution by policemen of Mozyr and at his working place.

Mikhail Karatkevich hopes for fair, independent and unbiased judicial examination of the administrative case on July 4 and protection of his constitutional rights for rest, moving around the city, meeting with friends at any time and in any place which is not forbidden by the authorities, including Lenin Square in Mozyr.