Legal action threatens last free Belarus newspaper

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, according to court documents and newspaper representatives.

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.

Charhinets is the most senior Belarusian parliamentarian involved in foreign policy and one of the key figures enlisted in Lukashenka’s campaign of rapprochement with the EU.

Because of the situation in the country, the EU has not included Belarus in its European Neighbourhood Policy. In a paper published in November 2006, the European Commission pointed out that the EU cannot have closer ties "with a regime which denies its citizens their fundamental democratic rights". The paper also outlined 12 conditions for Belarus to become a partner.

The Lukashenka regime is trying to break through its international isolation without having to meet any of the EU’s conditions. But observers believe that despite his fiery rhetoric, Lukashenka will eventually have to yield on at least some points since he needs the benefits that would flow from closer association with the EU in order to stay in power.

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 Char-hinets, 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 these claims may well be defamatory, the amount of damages sought suggests that the plaintiff’s main aim is to close down the newspaper. In a statement, Alyaksey Karol, the paper’s editor, described the lawsuit as "politically motivated" and "directed at shutting down an independent newspaper".

Novy Chas was first published in March this year after its predecessor, Zgoda, had been closed down by the authorities a year earlier, on the eve of a presidential election.

The first hearing in the case has been scheduled for 5 December, according to a statement by Novy Chas.

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, according to court documents and newspaper representatives.