Appeal of Belsat Journalist Dismissed
The Judge of the Hrodna Regional Court dismissed the appeal of Ales' Zaleuski, staff journalist of Belsat who had been fined for "unlawful production of mass media products".
According to Zaleuski, the Judge claimed that this was not the first case of the kind, so he thought that the journalist's fault in violating administrative article 22.9 had been proved.
On May 27, Ales' Zaleuski, anchorman of two programs on Belsat TV channel, was fined in Karelichy for 30 basic amounts for "unlawful production of mass media products".
Similar cases were held against some other journalists in the Hrodna region: Andrei Mialeshka and Ales' Dzianisau were also fined under administrative article 22.9.
Meantime, lawyers of BAJ insist that the article cannot be applied against individual journalists, but only gainst editorial offices.