BELARUS NEWS AND ANALYSIS

DATE:

09/10/2007

Belarusian Supreme Court Denies Registration To Opposition Youth Group

Belarus's Supreme Court on October 8 rejected an appeal by the opposition Youth Front against the denial of its attempts at registration, Belapan reported. In August, a similar appeal was rejected by the Minsk City Court. In explaining its ruling, the Supreme Court said that some of the Youth Front's founders have faced administrative and criminal prosecution and hence cannot act as founders of a nongovernmental organization. These people "were convicted for acting on behalf of an unregistered organization. Nevertheless, we are denied the opportunity to obtain registration yet again.... This is a vicious circle," Anastasiya Loyka, a representative of the Youth Front, argued before the court. "Denying registration to a nongovernmental organization on the grounds that its founders were prosecuted for acting on behalf of an unregistered organization in the past is absurd. It's absolutely clear that this decision is politically motivated," former Youth Front leader Pavel Sevyarynets told the agency. The Youth Front is reportedly planning to take its case to international organizations, including the UN Human Rights Committee. JM

Source:

http://www.rferl.org/newsline/2007/10/3-cee/cee-091007.asp

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