English

Opposition activist fined over erection of memorial crosses at Stalin-era massacre site

A judge of the Vitsyebsk District Court imposed a fine on opposition activist Kastus Smolikaw on Tuesday over the erection of memorial crosses at a Stalin-era massacre site near the village of Palyai.

Judge Tatsyana Dzehtsyarova fined Mr. Smolikaw two times the Base Rate, or 70,000 rubels ($24.5) at present, finding him guilty under Article 23.39 of the Administrative Offenses Code, which penalizes exercising an alleged or actual right with no regard for the established procedure.

Opposition activists in the Vitsyebsk region have put up memorial crosses near Palyai since 1989, Mr. Smolikaw, head of the regional organization of the Belarusian Popular Front (BPF), told BelaPAN.

"Unidentified vandals constantly destroy the crosses," he said. "That’s why we have to keep putting up new ones."

On October 29, activists of the BPF, the Movement for Freedom and other organizations put up five 6.5-foot high wooden crosses at the massacre site. The crosses were painted red so as to be more visible from the nearby Vitsyebsk-Lyozna highway.

"We didn't want the memorial to pass unnoticed by the local authorities and therefore we informed Yury Osipaw, head of the Voranava Village Executive Committee, about it,” Mr. Smolikaw said. “He sent a report to the Vitsyebsk District Prosecutor's Office, which led to the charge against me."

Mr. Smolikaw described the fine as unjust and said that he would appeal it to the regional court.