Aleh Vouchak: Authorities Cannot Shut Belarusian People’s Mouths

The authorities steer tension in the society by their decisions, but there is a limit to everything.

The citizens who criticize the authorities in the internet will face huge fines from now on.

The Minsk district court set up the precedent, having fined Barauliany inhabitant Alena Maksimava for 20 base fees on June 17. The court considered her guilty of insulting Deputy Head of Communal and Utility Amenities of Minsk region Valery Khakhlou.

Chairman of the human rights center “Legal Assistance to Population” (Kyiv, Ukraine) Aleh Vouchak has commented upon the situation to Byelorusskaya Pravda.

– I don’t understand why the judge stretched the trial for three days when he could have finished it in one day. If he wanted to demonstrate the court’s independence, then why didn’t he send the administrative material back for revision, as it had been prepared with gross violations of the administrative legislation? How can a person be subjected to administrative responsibility without proofs, that it was Maksimava who had insulted a representative of the authorities at the forum? How could the judge personally qualify the words, which Khakhlou considered insulting, without a corresponding expert decision?

The court shatters the trust to itself by such decisions. Sometimes it seems to me that the “rule of telephone” does not work anymore – judges always take the side of the representatives of the government which they serve.

– How adequate the fine is?

– Even in case Maksimava’s guilt is proved, the 20 base fees fine is overwhelming for her – the woman earns Br 3 million. It is worth mentioning that she lives with elderly parents and looks after them – the fine will automatically affect her family. The court didn’t study Maksimava’s personality, although she had never been subjected to administrative or criminal responsibility, and had positive characteristics at the place of residence and employment. The court could have applied humanism and warn her, if there was no will to close the administrative case.

– In return, every Internet user will think twice about the consequences before criticizing the authorities…

– I agree that this court trial was counted on the citizens who ask more and more questions to the administrative bodies that break their rights. Just tell: why cutting down two hectares of woods with 100-years pines and fur-trees, when it is always possible to find a compromise: to preserve the woods and to build the collector? The case has received publicity not only in Barauliany, but throughout Belarus. The government is trying to intimidate the citizens of fines, so that they would not complain about it.

– Is Alena Maksimava ready to put up with the fine?

– No, we will file an appeal. We will fight for the citizens’ right to freely express their personal opinions. We haven’t lost today’s trial as the authorities steer tension in the society by their decisions (cutting down woods, fines against the activists). But there is a limit to everything – the authorities will not shut the Belarusian people’s mouths with overwhelming fines.