14 June 2002
Brest Regional Court overturns conviction of opposition

 The Brest Regional Court has overturned an opposition activist's conviction for participating in the last year's "chain of concerned people" formed to attract public attention to the unaccounted for disappearances of opponents of Belarusian ruler Aleksandr Lukashenko.
A district court had found Polina Panasyuk guilty of disobeying police officers' legal demands and violating regulations regarding mass demonstrations, the opposition youth group Zubr told BelaPAN.
The Brest Regional Court said Ms Panasyuk had been charged unlawfully because the image of former Interior Minister Yury Zakharenko, which she was holding in her hands, "did not express sociopolitical, group or private interests or a protest, but asserted the fact" of the politician's disappearance.