Four youngsters sentenced to five to six years in jail

On July 1, the Frunzienski District Court of Minsk handed down a sentence to four political prisoners who have been held behind bars for more than eight months. The defendants were: Arsenii Maiseichyk, 20, Adam Sauko, 19, Siarhei Batura, 21, and Mikita Kuntysh, 20. Adam Sauko was a minor at the time of the ‘crime’.

The young men were detained on November 9, 2021, in Minsk a criminal case under Article 289 of the Criminal Code (an act of terrorism) for supposedly disabling the railroad tracks. However, the final charges were brought under two other articles of the Criminal Code: Part 1 of Article 342 (participation in actions that grossly violate public order) and Part 1 of Article 13 and Part 2 of Article 293 (preparation to participate in riots). The investigation claimed that they received telescopic batons and tasers, as well as instructions for sabotaging the railroad, from the administrators of the Civil Self-Defense Units of Belarus Telegram chat.

Judge Andrei Mlechka found them guilty and sentenced Mikita Kuntysh and Arsenii Maiseichyk to six years, and Adam Sauko and Siarhei Batura to five years of imprisonment in a medium-security penal colony.