Protocol Drawn Against Former Political Prisoner Vaskovich For Article About Rally

The former political prisoner, journalist of the Babruisk Courier newspaper Yauhen Vaskovich was summoned by telephone to the local inspector on April 24.

As the policeman explained, a protocol was drawn up against Yauhen under Art. 23.34 Part 1 of the Administrative Code – for alleged violation of the law on mass events, the press service of the Belarusian Association of Journalists reports.

More than three weeks earlier, on March 31, Yauhen Vaskovich covered the picket of Babruisk activists of the trade union of radio-electronic industry in Slonim on the instruction of the Babruisk Courier editorial board (where he works as a correspondent).

The article about the event “Babruisk Activists of the Trade Union of Radio-Electronic Industry Supported Their Slonim Colleague” appeared on the Babruisk Courier site on April 2. The journalist didn’t take part in the picket.

Meanwhile, on April 8 a report was drawn up against Yauhen in absentia in Slonim for violating the “established order” of mass events. Then his administrative case was forwarded to Babruisk.

In the evening of April 24, the journalist visited the community police office number 8 of the Leninski district police department of Babruisk. A polling protocol was drawn up there, to which the police attached the written editorial assignment, signed by Babruisk Courier chief editor Anatol Sanatsenka, a screenshot of the publication from the website and a Word printout of the article.

The Investigator of the Department of Internal Affairs gave Yauhen to understand that soon he might be summoned to court.