One minute with Belarusian national flag in hands costs 470, 000 rubles

Today heads of regional branches of the United Civil party and the Belarusian Social Democratic Hramada Yury Istomin and Viktar Sazonau have been fined in Hrodna.
Istomin is to pay 50 basic units (1 mln 759 thousand rubles, or $821), Sazonau – 30 basic units (1 mln 50 thousand rubles, or $469). They stood trial for “active participation in an unsanctioned rally”, Radio Svaboda informs.
On May 2 a street concern of a well-known Polish group “Lombard” took place in Hrodna. The public had many Polish and a few Belarusian flags. Mr. Istomin and Mr. Sazonau were holding a white-red-white flag standing on the roof of a building.
The administrative reports against Isomin and Sazonau were considered in the regional court of Hrodna by judge Natallya Kozel.
“Considering the 6 minutes when we raised the flag over the roof in Budzyony Street, 48A together with Sazonau, and the total sum of the fine, 2 mln 800 rubles, the cost of one minute of holding the white-red-white flag in our hands is 470 thousand rubles. That’s the cost of the regime’s attitude towards the national symbols,” Yury Isomin said.
During the trial Yury Istomin noticed an interesting thing. “Major Vechar, who filed the report for our hoisting the flag, tow times in his testimony said that Polish national flags, the EU flags, and “our, white-red-white flags” were seen at the concert. It must be a Freudian slip of the tongue, but I think that though these guys are fulfilling orders, they know what our true national symbols are, and which are fabricated by the current regime”.
Viktar Sazonau says that the concert of Lombard was really an event that attracted many people, and authorities reacted to it, though they failed to give permission to the organisers to rent a hall. But the concert took place outside, at a privately owned territory. Policemen were videoing during the concert.
“It is no wonder that the white-red-white flag wasn’t welcomed. It is long since people are to stand trial for the flags. Everything Belarusian is eradicated, textbooks of Belarusian history are thrown away, to make our people unaware about these flags and our history,” Sazonau is convinced.