Belarus woman fined for streaming on social media from animals shelter

A volunteer for the Orsha-based project ‘Pigs mind it’ Yuliya Hrankova was fined for live video streaming from an animal shelter on her Odnoklassniki account. The court ruled that the social network was a mass medium and fined Yuliya for the illegal production and distribution of information via a media outlet.

Yulia and six volunteers visited the Orsha motor depot which hosts an animal shelter  on March 21.

“I started making a video and streaming it on Odnoklassniki to help the animals find new owners. I cannot take a dog from the shelter because I live in a one-room flat with two children. We decided to adopt one of the dogs – he was blind and thin. But we did not manage to do it because the police arrived. However, all the dogs were taken away from the shelter latert hanks to our stream ,” Yuliya Hrankova told Euroradio.

The young woman and three other volunteers were detained on the same evening. They stood trial next morning. Yuliya was fined 25 base amounts for trespassing and 3 base amounts for disobedience to the police (the volunteer refused to stop streaming). The very fact of streaming was also a reason for charges.

"The trial was scheduled to take place on the same day but later – at 3 p.m. I could not attend it and warned them in advance. They told me that they would call me and tell me when I could come. However, the sentence was pronounced in my absence – I learnt it at the beginning of last week and I came to get the documents for the first hearing,” Yuliya Hrankova said.

The young woman was returned guilty of violating article 22.9 of the Administrative Code – illegal production and distribution of information.  The authorities are using the same provision to persecute Belsat TV stringers who operate without accreditation in Belarus. Yuliya stressed that she never worked for mass media.

Nevertheless, the court ruled that she was a journalist and Odnoklassinki was a mass medium. Streaming from the animal shelter will cost Yuliya 20 base amounts or Br460 (approx. $220).

The volunteer owes Br1058 in fines to the state now. She is planning to lodge complaints.