Editor-in-chief of closed “Zhoda” newspaper is arrested

Minsk City Court has restarted the criminal case against the former deputy editor-in-chief of “Zhoda” Alyaksandr Zdvizhkou. He is accused of “rousing religious animosity”.
The editor-in-chief of “Novy Chas” Alyaksei Karol informed “Nasha Niva” about it. He received notice of appointment on December 30 and was asked to come to court as a witness on January 11.

The criminal case against Zdzvizhkou and “Zhoda” was started in 2006, before the presidential election. He was accused of publishing cartoons of the Prophet Muhammad that had been printed in the Danish press. “Zhoda” was closed down but the case against Zdzvizhkou was not closed because he disappeared while the investigation was in process.

Nobody knows where he was all this time. The court suspended the case because the main suspect was absent. Alyaksei Karol says that he phoned to Minsk City Court and they told him that Zdzvizhkou was detained. They did not specify for how long he would be arrested.

Some witnesses were invited to court on January 14. According to the article, the former deputy editor-in-chief is threatened with 5 years of imprisonment.