Ryhor Kastusiou asks UN to defend his rights

The Supreme Court of Belarus rejected the supervisory appeal by Ryhor Kastusiou. The politician is going to apply to the UN.

On July 23, deputy head of the Belarusian Popular Front party (BPF) Ryhor Kastusiou received a reply from the Supreme Court of Belarus to his appeal, in which he asked the chairman of the Supreme Court to overturn the decision of the Shklou district court on issuing him a fine for participation in an event in Svislach that honoured the memory of the 1863-1864 anti-Russian rebels of Kastus Kalinouski and the decision of judge of the Mahilou regional court Mikalai Hladki, Viasna human rights centre reports.

Ryhor Kastusiou also asked the Supreme Court to issue a particular decision against judges Sviatlana Barantsava, Mikalai Hladki and Ihar Proshka for committed violations of the law.

Deputy chairman of the Supreme Court R. Aniskevich wrote in his response that “your arguments about the absence in your actions of the elements of the alleged administrative offence and a violation of your right to freedom of assembly and expression are unworthy.

The circumstances of the administrative offences committed by you were examined in due order, and all obtained evidence, also your arguments, were assessed.

No procedural violations that could result in overturning the court decisions were found.

There are no grounds to cancel the court decision you mention in your appeal.”

Ryhor Kastusiou says he cannot agree with conclusions of the deputy chairman of the Supreme Court. He thinks his participation in the event to honour the memory of the rebels and Kastus Kalinouski did not violate the law. According to the politician, he exhausted all domestic remedies wanting to cancel the unfair, as he thinks, decision of the Shklou district court on issuing him a fine of 25 basic amounts. He now plans to appeal to the UN Human Rights Committee.

The BPF deputy head thinks judges Barantsava, Hladki and Proshka violated his rights guaranteed by article 33, 34, 35 of the Constitution of Belarus and articles 19 and 21 of the Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.

On December 23, 2014, judge of the Shklouski district court Sviatlana Barantsava fined the Ryhor Kastusiou 25 basic amounts (3,750,000 rubles) for participating in the event to honour the memory of Kastus Kalinouski and his rebels in Svislach on October 26, 2014.

On 3 February 2015, judge Mikalai Hladki of the Mahiliou regional court dismissed the appeal by Ryhor Kastusiou. On Aprl 17, 2015, Kastusiou received a reply to his appeal to chairman of the Mahilou regional court Ihar Proshka, saying that “the administrative punishment was imposed with due regard to all circumstances and information that characterised you as a person”. Chairman of the Mahilou regional court Ihar Proshka didn't find grounds to cancel the decision of the Shklou district court on issuing a fine to Ryhor Kastusiou as well as the decision of judge of the Mahilou regional Court Mikalai Hladki, who upheld the district court's decision.

Activists from different regions of Belarus, among them Ryhor Kastusiou, visited Svislach on October 26, 2014, to pay respect to the memory of Kastus Kalinouski and the rebels.

Men in plain clothes and a police cameraman were accompanying the activists from the cemetery in Svislach to the village of Yakushouka. A number of participants of the event were fined.