Woman sentenced to 2 years of house arrest for evicting a "political" assistant prosecutor from her apartment

On June 30, the Zavadski District Court in Minsk passed a sentence upon 33-year-old Volha Sinialiova who refused to let her apartment to the assistant prosecutor of Frunzenski district of Minsk, Alina Kasjanchyk. The woman was found guilty under Article 190 of the Criminal Code - a violation of the equality of citizens. The trial was held behind closed doors "because of the need to protect the personal data of Kasjanchyk and her family from disclosure".

The trial began on June 18, but never actually took place. At that hearing, it turned out that Andrei Machalau, Volha Sinialiova's lawyer, was disbarred. He found out about it in the courtroom.

Volha Sinialiova, the mother of two children, one of which is a baby, was under house arrest. As the Prosecutor General's Office previously reported, the apartment lease contract was signed last year on July 21 for two years. The victim assistant prosecutor "fulfilled her obligations in a timely and full manner" under the contract. But the landlord, according to the prosecutor's office "succumbed to the influence of Telegram channels and other Internet resources" and demanded from Alina Kasjanchyk to vacate the premises.

According to human rights defenders, there was no conflict between the landlord and the tenant. The victim herself initiated the termination of the lease contract a month after the request by the landlord, and two weeks later she filed a complaint to the police. The police found no grounds for a criminal case. She then went to the Investigative Committee, who summoned Volha for questioning and brought a criminal case under Art. 190 of the Criminal Code.

Alina Kasjanchyk, an assistant prosecutor of Frunzenski District of Minsk, has supported the state prosecution in many "political" cases, participated in criminal trials against protesters.