24 August 2020, 15:45 | Elena Bychkova, TUT.BY
Source: TUT.BY
A court in Homel has made a decision on the case of Inna Borisenko, a school teacher. She participated in peaceful protests and was detained last Friday near her house when she was taking out the trash.
Inna was escorted to the courthouse by riot policemen. She was placed in a glass cell.
The protocol that the judge read aloud stated that the woman was accused of both disobeying a police officer and breach of mass event organization rules.
“How do you plead?” the judge asked.
“I was near the circus [at a peaceful protest]. But I didn’t organize anything. I sincerely believed that everything was legal. The police didn’t ask people to disperse. Everyone was just standing around talking.”
The woman speaks quietly, the judge asks her to speak up.
“I spent two days in such a place that if I could be punished I already have been.”
“Why were you there [near the circus]?”
“I thought that if there were no police, then it was allowed.”
The judge listed the actions mentioned in the protocol: how a group of people followed Inna during a demonstration, how she raised her hands, approached girls with posters, and talked to them.
“I am a very emotional person, I speak loudly.”
Then, Inna stated what happened on the day she was detained.
“I was taking out the trash, we live in a house, not in an apartment. When I was throwing the trash away, two men came to me, showed their police identification. I was sure that something was wrong with me throwing out the trash, but I didn’t know what. They told me to come with them.”
“Did you agree?”
“I was in a terrible state. I didn’t understand what was going on.”
“Did you resist?”
“There wasn’t much chance of resisting.”
“The protocol states that you sat on the ground…”
“No. I didn’t. I was hysterical.”
“So you acknowledge that you were resisting?”
“I was hysterical, so it is possible.”
The court has decided to fine the teacher 26 penalty units (702 rubles, about 280 US dollars).
The judge left, and the cell was opened.
“Can I go? Am I free?” Inna didn’t believe what was happening.
The secretary gave her a ticket. The woman must pay the fine within 40 days.
Source: TUT.BY
