Activist Pavel Levinau has asked the court to order the National State TV and Radio Company to give him the opportunity to speak on the TV channel Belarus 1 to refute the lies and insults made at the state television channel.
In the program Club of Editors (Klub redaktarau), aired on February 7, for almost three minutes, there was discussed the meeting of the Belarusian human rights defenders with the UN Special Rapporteur on human rights in Belarus Miklash Haraszti held in Vilnius. During the live discussion, the actions of human rights defenders were given negative assessment, human rights center Viasna reports.
On numerous occasions, the BTRC Chairman Henadz Davydzka spoke disparagingly of human rights defenders, calling them “so-called human rights activists,” who put something “into his ears [Miklash Haraszti].” And the TV program guest, the deputy of Minsk city council Heorhi Atamanau, used the term “human rights punks.”
Before turning to court, Paval Levinau tried to resolve the issue by addressing the Belteleradiocompany directly. He referred to Article 41 of the Law “On mass media”, stating that in accordance with Paragraph 1, individuals have the right to demand from the legal entity entrusted with functions of the editorial board, to refute common information if this information is untrue, defames their honor, dignity or business reputation. However, the BT management refused the demands of the defender.
