On April 17, the Homiel freelance journalists sent an appeal to the regional court. They are challenging the decision of the Homiel Tsentralny district court judge Alyaksei Piskunou, who punished them with heavy fines for their cooperation with Belsat.
On April 15, the court found both journalists guilty of “illicit manufacture and distribution of media products” and fined 7.5 million rubles each (35 basic units).
In protest, at the beginning of the meeting Zhukousky put on a mouth bandage and refused to give explanations and to answer the judge’s questions, since he had not granted Zhukousky’s request for his lawyer to be Leanid Sudalenka. Also, the judge did not allow journalists to use the services of a free state lawyer.
This year, the freelancer Zhukousky has been fined for cooperation with Belsat for the seventh time. After the trial, Kanstantsin Zhukousky sewed his mouth in protest.
