Stefanovich: “Society deprived of conscientious lawyers”
Human rights defender Valyantsin Stefanovich has commented on the expulsion of lawyer Pavel Sapelka from Minsk City Bar.
"The reason for it lies on the surface no matter what legal basis they use”, - says Stefanovich, - Depriving Pavel Sapelka of his right to continue working is exercising pressure on lawyers and we have seen it before. I mean the first attempt to expel Sapelka from the Bar when the Ministry of Justice ordered it for the first time but the Bar did not do it”. In the human rights activists’ opinion, the previous decision to deprive four lawyers of their licenses is the same kind of an event.
Stefanovich notes that he thinks that the fact that Sapelka was excluded from the Bar by its members is a shame. “It is a shame that autonomous advocatory bodies are dancing to the Ministry of Justice and KGB’s tune. All the society has been deprived of the right to de defended by professional and conscientious lawyers”, - claimed the activist, reports the human rights centre “Vyasna”.
