The MFF activist from Astraviets town files complaint to the Supreme Court

Ivan Kruk asks to cancel the heavy fine imposed on him for distribution of printed materials without publisher's imprint.

Kruk thinks the law enforcement agencies and court structures violated Article 33 of the Constitution of the Republic of Belarus and Article 5 of the law On Mass Media which both guarantee the freedom of thought, opinion, and their expression.

Moreover, the militia made substantial procedural violations when drawing up the protocol, and the district court made the judgement more than two months after the “violation of law”.

Kruk thinks that the printed materials – namely, Atom for Peace, Astraviets Reporter, and A Draught of Air – which he gave to his neighbour and for which he was fined are not mass media issues since they are not printed regularly. Penalizing him for the distribution of these materials is entirely groundless because these newspapers pose no threat to the state, traditions or public moral.

For reference – In July 2009, Astraviets urban village court convicted Ivan Kruk of the administrative violation of Article 22 of the law On Mass Media (distribution of newspapers without publisher's imprint) and ruled to penalize him with the fine in the amount of Br700,000 (€170). The Hrodna Region Court left the district court’s ruling unaltered.

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