The owner of the bookstore “Lohvinau” didn’t admitted guilt; the court is to continue on January 9

photo by novychas.info

No one was allowed to be present at the court but for the human rights defendant Elena Tonkacheva, two journalists, and Lohvinau’s wife.

The Economic Court of Minsk on Monday started hearing the tax ministry's suit seeking payment of a penalty of one billion rubles by prominent publisher Ihar Lohvinau’s bookstore.

Several dozen people turned out at the court to support the publisher, but only four of them were allowed to attend the hearing, held in a small courtroom, BelaPAN informs.

The bookshop may be closed for selling books “without the license of the Ministry of Information”. According to Euroradio, tax inspectors demand almost a billion rubles from the shop.

"Our opinion and the opinion of tax authorities were heard," Ihar Lohvinau told reporters outside the courtroom. "It was an unusual and quite unpleasant experience. The next hearing will be held on January 9."

The publisher said that the bookstore continued operating. "One of the solutions to the problem is the registration of a new legal entity and the receipt of permission to sell books," he said.

Lohvinau announced that earlier in the day he had filed a formal appeal against the information ministry's decision to deny his company a license to publish and sell books.

As “EuroBelarus” Information Service earlier reported, the penalty was imposed on the bookstore for unlicensed retailing as a result of an unscheduled audit ordered by the information ministry.

Lohvinau applied eight times for the license after he was ordered to obtain it in January 2014. He was refused each time.

In September 2013, the information ministry revoked the Lohvinau Publishing House's license over the publication of the 2011 Belarus Press Photo book, which was later found to be "extremist material."  Lohvinau’s appeals against the ministry’s decision were rejected. He subsequently moved his business to Lithuania and had an organization called the Lohvinau Literary House registered in Vilnius.

The Lohvinau bookstore is one of the few outlets offering Belarusian-language literary works by contemporary authors.