Sued into submission
European Voice reports that a senior politician in Belarus is suing one of the country’s few remaining independent newspapers for damages which could force it to close down.
The suit was brought by the chairman of the foreign relations and national security committee of the upper house of parliament, Mikalay Charhinets, who is a close confidant of President Alyaksandr Lukashenka.
Court documents made available by the weekly Novy Chas show that Charhinets is seeking damages of close to €200,000 for a critical article published by the Minsk-based newspaper in September.
While lawsuits and similar legal challenges to the few remaining independent newspapers are commonplace in Belarus, the damages sought by Charhinets are unprecedented. They represent many times the paper’s annual budget and would force it to cease publication if awarded.
The article in question suggested that Charhinets, who is a retired police general, was involved in an infamous Soviet-era judicial scandal in which several people were wrongfully convicted. It also questioned his credentials as a novelist.
While the article’s claims may turn out to be defamatory, the level of damages sought suggests that the plaintiff’s main aim is to close down the newspaper, as was noted in a statement by Alyaksey Karol, the paper’s editor, who described the lawsuit as “politically motivated.”
Sunday 02 Dec 2007 | Paul | Belarus
