Belarus lawyer Oleg Volchak claims compensation for moral damage from president daily.
If his complaint is accepted by local Civil court, it will create precedent since Belarus attained its independence in 1991 and ruled by dictator since 1994. Lawyer wants defend his honour and dignity, as he had been recently offended by columnist of the daily “Soviet Belarus- Belarus today” official media of Belarus president administration, with distribution of about half million copies all around the country.
The article “We Have a Lot of Wonders, Every Odd Guy is Beethoven”, published 6 March, described Belarus human rights activists — Oleg Volchak and his colleague Yana Polyakova as “dreamers” eager to deceit, telling false stories about persecution of them in aim to make “international scandal from nothing”.
Columnist, who hide himself under pen name Ksenofont Superfosfatov called them to be “not rights defenders, but wrong defenders” and gave his version of their stories, told in deliberately simplified, cynical and offensive way. The article dedicated mainly to conflict between Salihorsk based Yana Polyakova and local police officer Viktar Puhachou. Ms Palyakova complaint the officer beat her, but judge A.Burautsou foun her guilty of deliberate slander against police officer and sentenced her to 2.5 years of custodial restraint and a huge fine.
The author reminded as well incident of KGB pressure to lawyer Oleg Volchak, and called it “insignificant road scuffle”, which allegedly made laugh and cry journalists and editors when they found out the truth about the story they had published already.
Next day, 7 March Yana Palyakova, 33 y old was found in her flat, as she committed suicide. She buried 9 March.
“Right now we finish the text of complaint, gather evidences and we will send it to the District court in few days — by Monday 30 March”, Volchak said. “In accordance with Belarus Civil code, article N 153 “Defence of the personal honour and dignity”, me personally, claim the name of columnist to be disclosed. I urge him to make public refutation. Furthermore I claim compensation for the moral damage in the amount of 25 thousand dollars (17,200 GBP), what is usual amount any independent media has to pay, when court decide that journalist “hurt” dignity of some Belarus official, he added. (The average salary in Belarus is about 200-300 dollars. One bedroom flat to buy is about 70-100 thousand dollars).
Volchak reminded that “Belarus today” had insulted him already few years ago. The article published in 2004 was signed by Paval Yakubovich, the editor in chief of BT since 1994, when Lukashenka came to power. Both articles have similar mood, style and expressions.
“We have to identify the author and bring him to justice“, lawyer said. Yana Palyakova cannot ask for justice nobody anymore. But her friends and colleagues or broken-hearted mother can launch criminal case against BT columnist, as many in Belarus consider this article caused her to commit suicide. Incitement to suicide is criminal offence in Belarus.
“We can try to initiate such proceeding when the name of author will be disclosed”, Volchak said.
“Soviet Belarus-Belarus today”, used the same cynical style when open lie mixed with some facts, creates the picture seems to be realistic for years. In 2006, anonymous columnist addressed Russian “Kommersant” female correspondent, Belarusian by origin, and described her as “migrant worker, girl with singular reputation, who sucks her information and is paid by Tverskaya price list. (Tverskaya — is Moscow street with lot of expensive prostitutes).
The newspaper published several comments as follows up of scandals with diplomatic corps in Belarus, calling Western officials “perverted homosexual paedohiles” and “porno dealers”. Comment of Uta Zapf from PA OSCE interview in 2002 was headlined “Striptease as mode of communication”.
Nobody ever asked compensation for the moral damage made by such publications. Oleg Volchak is trying to create precedent in the country where independent media operates under every day pressure and state media are used as propaganda tool and can operate with no limits –no moral, nor ethic, nor simply pitiful.
to be continued