Brussels, 23/09/2014 (Agence Europe) - In twice recording Belarusian journalist Aliaksei Mikhalchanka on the list of sanctioned persons, the Council of the European Union first made errors of assessment in the reasons relied on against him, and then made an error in not respecting his basic rights of defence. After making this observation, the General Court of the EU had no other option than to uphold, on Tuesday 23 September, Mikhalchanka's application for annulment by a judgment (joined cases T-196/11 and T-542/12).
Mikhalchanka is a journalist in Belarus on public television channel ONT. In 2011, the Council adopted restrictive measures against various Belarusian nationals following the disappearance of key figures in Belarus, fraudulent elections and serious violations of human rights. Mikhalchanka was put on the list of people sanctioned (a ban on entering the EU, and an assets freeze) on the grounds that he was personally involved through his “senior” and thus “influential” position on public television. However, the General Court challenged this assertion. Mikhalchanka is neither a senior ranking journalist at ONT, it said, nor has his influence in damaging international electoral standards, or his influence on the crackdown on society, been proved.
In 2012, the Council maintained the restrictive measures against Mikhalchanka but changed the wording of the accusations against him. In acting as the anchorman for a television programme he was accused of having acted as an instrument of State propaganda, denigrating those in opposition to the Belarusian regime and using falsified information. The Council here made a second mistake, according to the General Court, by not informing Mikhalchanka beforehand of the new elements that it intended to use against him. The Council was nevertheless required to do this, and by not informing Mikhalchanka, the Council infringed his rights of defence. (JK)