Businessman fined for speaking Belarusian

A businessman from Zhdanovichy market Ales Taustyka has been fined 140,000 rubles for… speaking Belarusian.

“I was said, a woman filed a complaint against me to a regional tax inspection for my speaking in incomprehensible language with clients,” told the businessman to “Narodnaya Volya”. “As far as I can figure out, “incomprehensible language” is Belarusian, and I always speak Belarusian. The complaint was forwarded to the district tax inspection, but I wasn’t allowed to read it. I was fined 140,000 rubles. Under some rules they have a right to adopt such decisions. The explanation was as following: for an inappropriate talking to a client. But that woman was not buying anything from me at all. It was just a person who came and started to swear and insult me. If it was a man, my conversation and actions would be completely different, I must say…”

Ales Taustyka is one of the leaders of small businessmen; he was arrested for his political activities.