A district court in Homiel has imposed Br 3.6 mln fine on Larysa Shchyrakova. The journalist was accused of producing a news item about tax raises for entrepreneurs aired by Belsat on January 13.
By interviewing entrepreneurs Shchyrakova violated Article 22.9 of the Belarus Penal Code ‘illegal media production’, police officers said. The protocol was drawn by the head of Central law enforcement department Lieutenant Colonel, Yury Panin, on March 8.
The journalist believes that the trial was biased and one-sided.
“From the beginning, I applied for conducting the hearing in Belarusian, sending for a person to keep a record, take pictures and film everything, and for having a representative. But all the requests were denied. The decision was not a surprise. In the run-up to the presidential elections a massive cleanup of [independent] media has started throughout the country, and it has been also caused by the critical economic situation. The main message of the authorities is that one should not coverage the crisis and social problems, one should not show the people’s discontent,” Shchyrakova said.
In January, Shchyrakova was Br 900,000 fined. According to the judge, the journalist participated in an illegal picket.
Previously, Ales Zaleuski, Maryna Mauchanava and Ales Lyauchuk were tried for cooperation with Belsat.
