Based on the decision of Maryna Damnenka, judge of the Central rayon of Homiel, independent journalist from Homiel, Natallia Kryvashei, is to pay the maximum fine for “illegal production and distribution of media.”
Ms Kryvashei was accused of the crime based on ch. 2 of the article 22.9 of the Code of Administrative Offences (illegal production and distribution of media products) for producing, together with other Homiel freelance journalist Kanstantsin Zhukouski, a reportage about the suicide of the Belarusiani language teacher from the Homiel University. Later, the story appeared on the TV channel Belsat, which has been denied accreditation by the authorities of Belarus for more than 7 years.
“We speak the truth and show the truth for what it is, and the state does not benefit from it. We will soon have a presidential election, and they need to continue creating an image of quiet and stable Belarus, where everything is good,” Ms Kryvashei commented on her sentence.
At the trial, the journalist said that “she had produced or distributed no media,” but rather was present along with Mr Zhukouski at his request. The reporter expressed distrust to the judge three times, pleading for her removal, but to no avail. Judge Maryna Damnenka also rejected the reporter’s request to conduct the trial in the Belarusian language. The witness interviews and the protocol were drawn up without the presence of the defendant, allowing the reporter as much as familiarize herself with the case materials.
“I was fined 50 base units probably because the judge was angry at me. I expressed a no confidence vote about her three times, and given this emotional state, she would not even consider the matter to an end, would not explain what I was accused of, even though I said I did not understand it. She did not show me what I did wrong. She was very angry, and that is why it is 50 base units,” said the journalist.
The penalty that the Homiel freelancer has to pay is 9 million rubles (50 basic units), and it is the largest of the 21 fines, which were awarded to journalists for violation of ch. 2 of the article 22.9 of the Code of Administrative Violations.
The total amount of the penalties under this heading is already more than 108 million rubles (6,000 euros), according to the Belarusian Association of Journalists.
On June 10, in the clinic number 20 in Minsk were also detained independent journalists Arkadz Nestyarenka and Nasta Hralovich, who talked to people about the many hours they spent in line for a token to visit doctors. The police, which were called by the administration, brought our colleagues to the office, kept them there for 5 hours and then removed the video, drew up a questioning report and released them.
Maxim Yarashevich, belsat.eu/en/
