Alina Skrabunova’s case has been closed by judge of the Leninsky rayon of Mahiliou, Alena Volkava, due to the case’s negative prescription.
The journalist was accused of violating part 2 of Article 22.9 of the Code of Administrative Offences (illegal production and distribution of media), the Belarusian Association of Journalists reports.
The first hearing took place on 23 and 24 July, and both times the judge granted the motion to postpone the hearing of the journalist. The Mahiliou human rights activist Barys Bukhel, who had the opportunity to get acquainted with the case, mentioned numerous irregularities committed by the police of the Leninsky rayon police department while drawing the documents. He did not rule out that for this reason the Court decided to drop the matter, waiting for it to expire.
“I did not feel any concession, said Alina Skrabunova to Belsat.eu. The authorities could get anyone they want to in a tight corner, including me and other independent journalists. In the documents, there were so many irregularities and absurdities, they they had to be redrawn anyway. The judge found it necessary, apparently, to wait for the case to expire than send the documents for improvements to the police.”.
According to the independent media representatives from Mahiliou, the police rewrote the protocols of interrogation and put an even earlier date, which indicates the outright falsification. Alina Skrabunova even had a video from the police station, which would show that the documents were altered, but the court did not take this into account.
“There were a lot of irregularities in the documents. For example, the police wrote that the culprit was a cameraman Yauhen Hlushakou and responsible was – Alina Skrabunova. I understand that the police apparently have such a form, but where is common sense? Or is the police still to learn how to think and write properly?” said the journalist.
She is also going to write a complaint to the prosecutor’s office about Major Alyaksandr Sinitsky, who oversaw her case and made so many violations, and even forgery.
The case was launched on the basis of the reportage about the Mahiliou Plant “Strommashina”, broadcast on the TV channel Belsat on 26 May.
The total amount of fines to journalists under Article 22.9 of the Code of Administrative Violations now stands at 133 million Br 280 thousand rubles (over €8 thousand).
A number of journalists who had protocols drawn on them on the article 22.9 of the Administrative Code: in particular, Ales Liauchuk, Alyaksandr Dzyanisau, Alyaksandr Kirkevich, Alina Litvinchuk, Ihar Barysau, Tatstsiana Smotkina are awaiting trials.
baj.by, belsat.eu/en/
