Vasil Varushchanka
A court in Homiel found former police officer Vasil Varushchanka guilty of insulting the Belarusian language.
In accordance with Article 9.22 of the Administrative Code, the maximum penalty of 230 rubles (appr. $120) was imposed on him.
As reported earlier, Varushchanka, a former employee of the Interior ministry’s Security Department, made a comment in one of VKontakte social network communities:
«Belarusian language is a rotting and decomposing corpse! It is high time we buried it deep!”
Such behavior is inappropriate and unacceptable for a citizen of the Republic of Belarus, judge Dzmitry Kazlou said.
In court Varushchanka said that he had no purpose to insult ‘someone or something’.
“I admit my guilt and I am sorry. I apologise to anyone whom I offended. Making that comment was a reckless act. In short, I did it out of boredom,” he stated.
But Varushchanka’s wasting time on social media was noticed: civil activist Ihar Sluchak filed a request to Homiel City Executive Committee asking to make him accountable for insulting the Belarusian language.
The expert appraisal procedure at the Department of Russian Language of Homiel University recognised Varushchanka’s comment an insult to the Belarusian language.
“I hope this case becomes a good lesson for those who have not yet understood that giving opinion and insulting are completely different things, and that there will be fewer insults of the Belarusian language and fewer insults at all,” said Sluchak.
