Independent journalist in court battle with Belarus parliament

Marina Koktysh, a deputy editor-in-chief of the independent newspaper Narodnaya Volya (People's Will", is trying to take the House of Representatives to court.  Marina Koktysh insists that the legislature violated the press law by rejecting her application for accreditation. However, Minsk's Maskouski District Court threw out the journalist's lawsuit. The newspaper's editorial office also was denied to sue the president's security service which banned the journalist from attending the parliament's sessions.

The Belarusian Association of Journalists (BAJ) reports that Marina Koktysh was especially impressed when the court wrote that she had "no right to take a legal action". At the same time, the Belarusian Constitution sets out the right to defend rights in court. Koktysh and the editorial office of Narodnaya Volya are set to continue their struggle in the Minsk City Court.