Did Minsk city executive committee apologise to Svyatlana Zavadskaya?

• 28.05.2008, 10:08

Svyatlana Zavadskaya, the widow of the forcibly kidnapped ORT TV cameraman, went to law against Mikhail Titsenkou, deputy head of the Minsk city executive committee.

Svyatlana Zavadskaya appealed to court against the decision of Mikhail Titsenkou, deputy head of the Minsk city executive committee, on banning a picket, dedicated to the anniversary of disappearing of Yury Zakharanka, the former minister of the internal affairs.

As “Narodnaya Volya” newspaper learnt, Svyatlana Zavadskaya sent a compliant to the Maskouski district court on 26 May.

Svyatlana doesn’t believe in objectivity and farness of Belarusian judges.

– But no song, no supper, – she says. – The easiest way is to throw up and do nothing. In early May I wrote an application to the Minsk city executive committee for holding a picket. Mikhail Titsenkou, deputy head of the Minsk city executive committee, didn’t permit to hold a picket, he explained his decision with the fact that holding of mass events is forbidden at a distance less than 200 meters from metro stations and pedestrian underpasses. Thought there are places on October square, where a 100-people picket can be held at a distance mote than 200 meters from metro stations and pedestrian underpasses. However, neither Titsyankou nor his assistants phoned to me and cleared out where on October square I was going to have a picket.

I’d like to stop the practice of ban of any mass events that have any relation to the opposition. So I have gone to law.”

Svyatlana Zavadskaya asks the court to acknowledge the decision of M. Titsyankou as “unlawful and violating the civil right for assembly,” and oblige the Minsk city executive committee “to apologise in public for violating of civil rights via mass media.”