Blogger lost in court to Belarus state TV. The case lasted several months.
Representatives of the Belteleradiocompany (BTRC) did not show up for court decision.
Anton Matolka went to court after his pictures of the northern lights were shown without permission in the news on the “Belarus 1” channel. He wrote a letter to the BTRC administration, but received a response from Henadz Davydzka that “all was fine”. Then photographer decided to seek justice in court.
As a compensation for non-pecuniary damage the blogger wanted to get Br 20 million, but in the course of the hearing he reduced the amount to 1 Belarusian ruble, which, after the denomination became a kopek. Such a small amount was due to the fact that the photographer considers the procceedings a show trial, with the main goal not to make money but “remind people that stealing photos is bad”.
Apart from the kopeck, Anton Matolka wanted to receive a fee of 20 basic units (Br 4,2 mn) for two of his photos used by the BTRC and for two sleepless nights. Now Anton Matolka has to pay the court a fee of 450 rubles and 89 rubles 40 kopecks to the expert Andrei Chuprynski.
The court decision came into force. Now Anton Matolka has three years to submit a supervisory appeal.
