The justice department stated in its writ that “Legal Aid to Citizens” has provided paid legal services without having a required license. The justice department further held that the legal address of this organization is different from that given in its by-laws. The fact that the human rights body failed to re-register its logo during the 1999 re-registration and continues to use this emblem today was also mentioned as a breach of rules.

Meanwhile, Oleg Volchek, who chairs “Legal Aid to Citizens” asserted that his organization has never provided chargeable legal assistance. As for the legal address, Oleg Volchek intends to ask the owner of the flat rented by the organization to appear in court to testify that the organization is housed at the address registered in the ministry of justice.

“Legal Aid to Citizens” has been operating in Belarus since 1998. For the five years in existence the organization headed by former investigator Oleg Volchek has given legal advice to nearly 4,000 needy people. Participation in the investigation of high-profile forced disappearance cases of former interior minister Yury Zakharenko, vice speaker of the Supreme Council Viktor Gonchar, prominent businessman Anatoly Krasovsky, and ORT TV channel cameraman Dmitry Zavadsky made the human rights group particularly well known in the country. Its members were also engaged in probing the tragic incident in Minsk subway on May 31, 1999 in which many people had died as a result of police negligence. Representatives of “Legal Aid to Citizens” actively participated in monitoring presidential, parliamentary and local elections in the country.

That is already the six non-governmental civic group in Belarus at imminent risk of closure by the Belarussian justice. On July 31 the Vitebsk regional court shut down “Kontur”, a center of youth initiatives. In the past three months another four civic groups have been terminated by Belarussian courts, to wit, “Civic Initiatives”, “Varuta”, the “Youth Christian-and-Social Union” and “Ratusha”.

Oleg Volchek believes that in just another one and a half or two months – the time required to complete the hearing of this case -- his organization would cease to exist. Representatives of the justice ministry Mikhail Sukhinin and Aleksander Khariton, both from the ministry’s department for public associations, refused to comment the situation.