US$46,500) to head of the Liberal Democratiс Party Sergei Gaidukevich. Gaidukevich sued after an article on his alleged links to Saddam Hussein and receiving $1 mln from the Iraqis dictator. In 2007 Leninsky District Court ordered Narodnaya Volya to pay a fine of to the chief of the Main Ideological Administration of the President of Belarus Oleg Proleskovsky, reporter Marina Koktysh was personally fined . Meanwhile, only in 2011 more than three times the newspaper claims were rejected by Belarusian courts. Crackdown In 2004 International Press Freedom Award laureate Svetlana Kalinkina accepted an editorial position at Narodnaja Volya. In 2004 Iosif Siaredzich wrote letters to Minsk court in protection of Leonid Svetik, a high school teacher and political activist, who was prosecuted by authorities for criticizing the government. In 2005 the weekly circulation was around 150,000 copies. On September 20, 2005, without any notification, bailiffs entered the editors office and distrained all its property, Narodnaya Volya’s bank account was arrested. The pressure from the Information Ministry prevented Belarusian printers from working with the paper. On October 1, 2005, Belsouzpechat and Krasnaya Zvezda printing house cancelled unilaterally the agreements with Narodnaja Volya. Almost 20 more publications were banned in the same way. Narodnaja Volya could no longer be distributed via newsstands or subscription. The editors office was forced to use the loophole in state law and print in Russian Smolensk. Border forces arrested three print runs and advised the editors office not to bring any more copies until the presidential election is over. OSCE representative said that the closure made the country lose two-thirds of its independent press, BAJ called it lawless. The Union of Right Forces Russian political party offered the newspaper to finance its work. Many years later Siaredzich recalled that the situation with printing and distribution was so desperate, that he even signed an agreement with some Lithuanian aeronautic company in to deliver Narodnaja Volya print runs across the state border from foreign print shops by aerostats. Meanwhile, in May 2007 at a press conference Lukashenko refused to acknowledge any oppression against authorities upon opposition and non-governmental media. On October 19, 2005, Narodnaja Volya freelance journalist Vasiliy Grodnikov was found dead with a head wound. Retiree Grodnikov wrote articles on the most actual topics from Belarusian life. Beginning on 1 January 2006, the Belarusian post office refused to distribute the paper, and an entire print run of 30,000