Pickets to mark 60th anniversary of Declaration of Human Rights under ban

• 20.12.2008, 11:06

The Kastrychnitski district court of Vitsebsk dismissed a complaint of human rights activist Paval Levinau.

The complaint of Paval Levinau, human rights activist of the Belarusian Helsinki Committee, against a decision Losich, deputy head of the city executive committee, to ban a number of pickets dedicated to the 60th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights proclamation was heard on December 19.

Losich again sent a fax message to the court asking to hear the complaint in his absence due to his “heavy schedule”. Executor of these documents was Ms Puchkova, deputy head of the ideological department of the Vitsebsk city executive committee, Viasna human rights center reports.

Judge Rymsha denied a motion of the human rights activist on postponing a hearing in view of absence of Losich. Paval Levinau was deprived of an opportunity to hear answers of the deputy head of the city executive committee. All questions remained unanswered.

The trial found out that a decision of the Vitsebsk city executive committee of 2003, regulating holding of mass events in the city, wasn’t published in media, as the law demands. Losich received no objections to his complaint.

When the judge was reading out the materials of the case, the human rights activist insisted the judge should read out al materials. The judge had to read out texts of the Constitution of Belarus, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, and the Law on Mass Events in the Republic of Belarus, attached to the complaint.

However, judge Rymsha decided to dismiss the complaint.

It should be reminded that Paval Levinau was refused holding of similar pickets in December last year. Having exhausted every expedient for domestic remedies, he appealed to the United Nations Commission on Human Rights. The complaint was submitted for consideration.