What happened to political prisoners on October 24–30

There are currently 1,334 political prisoners in Belarus—and counting. Every week the courts keep handing down new sentences and laying new charges against those already in custody. But there are also those who have served their term and are finally released. Viasna has collected all the news about political prisoners from the last week of October.

Latest convictions

Between October 24–30, human rights defenders learned about at least 15 political prisoners who were convicted in court.

• On October 24, Judge Alena Ananich found Mikalai Bredzeleu, the spokesperson of the A1 mobile network operator, guilty of ‘backing the activities of an extremist formation’ (Article 361-2 of the Criminal Code), namely giving financial support to blogger Anton Matolka. The defendant, however, was cleared from charges of ‘power abuse’ under Part 2 of Article 424 of the Criminal Code, as the prosecution failed to provide enough evidence of his participation in the crime. As the result, the political prisoner was sentenced to four years of imprisonment in a general-security penal colony.
• On October 13, 2022, Judge Natallia Buhuk of the Minsk Municipal Court passed a verdict to Artsiom Zhernak and Daniil Cheunakou. Both political prisoners were found guilty under three articles of the Criminal Code of:
  • ‘calls for restrictive measures (sanctions) and other actions aimed at causing harm to national security’ (Part 3 of Article 361)
  • ‘participation in actions that grossly violate the public order’ (Part 1 of Article 342)
  • ‘creation of an extremist formation or participation in it’ (Part 1 of Article 361-1)

Zhernak, an independent trade union activist at the Minsk Automobile Plant, was sentenced to four years of imprisonment in a medium-security penal colony. Cheunakou received five years in a medium-security penal colony.

Persecution for 2020 peaceful protests

Seven people were convicted of ‘group actions that grossly violate the public order’ under the “people’s article” 342 of the Criminal Code for their participation in 2020 protests:

• On September 23, 2022, Judge Aliaksandr Volk of Savietski District Court sentenced Viachaslau Arestau, a bank customer service specialist, to three years of restricted freedom under home confinement under Article 342. On trial, Arestau pleaded guilty and admitted that he shouted slogans in public and blocked the traffic by stepping onto the roadway with other protesters.
• On October 24, 2022, Judge Siarhei Katser of the Maskoŭski District Court of Minsk convicted a married couple Anzhalika and Yauhen Yarmak and sentenced them to two and a half years of restricted freedom under home confinement each. Initially, the criminal case was initiated against the couple for ‘group actions that grossly violate the public order’ (Article 342 of the CC) and ‘insulting the president’ (Article 368 of the CC). However, the latter charge was dropped due to the statute of limitations.  
• On October 26, 2022, Judge Iryna Lanchava of the Mahilioŭ Regional Court sentenced Anastasiya Hancharevich to four years and six months of imprisonment in a general-security penal colony in a closed-door trial. Hancharevich was at first only charged with ‘group actions that grossly violate the public order’ under Article 342 of the Criminal Code, but eventually, she was convicted also of ‘insulting the president’ (Article 368) and ‘promotion of extremist activity’ (Article 361-4).
• On October 26, 2022, Raman Bahryi and Viktoryia Zhdanovich, husband and wife, were found guilty of ‘group actions that grossly violate the public order’ (Article 342 of the Criminal Code) and sentenced to 12 months of restricted freedom under home confinement each. Judge Siarhei Shatsila considered their case.
• On October 26, 2022, Judge Mikhail Makarevich of the Partyzanski District Court of Minsk found Yauhen Hrytsok from Akciabrski guilty of ‘group actions that grossly violated the public order’ and sentenced him to three years of restricted freedom under home confinement. After spending two months in pre-trial detention, Hrytsok was released in the courtroom.  

Zeltser case

Sentencing in the Zeltser case continues. In this case, hundreds of people are prosecuted for commenting on the internet about the fatal shooting between KGB officer Dzmitryi Fedasiuk and IT specialist Andrei Zeltser.

• On October 24, 2022, the trial of Illia Mironau, an activist from Homieĺ, was held in the court of Savietski District of Homieĺ. Mitonau was initially charged with ‘inciting hatred’ under Article 130 of the Criminal Code but the investigation later changed it to ‘discrediting the Republic of Belarus,’ Article 369-1 of the Criminal Code. Judge Aliaksandr Mokharau found Mironau guilty and sentenced him to 18 months of imprisonment and a fine of 6,400 Belarusian rubles ($2,530). He was released in the courtroom, as the 12 months he spent in pre-trial custody were credited as 18 months in jail.
• Maksim Baswas tried in the Zeltser case on October 24, 2022. Judge Iryna Maiko of the Minsk Regional Court found him guilty of ‘insulting a government official’ and ‘inciting social hatred’ under Articles 369 and 130 of the Criminal Code. Bas received three and a half years of imprisonment and a fine of 3,200 Belarusian rubles ($1,260).
• On October 26, 2022, Judge Anastasiya Papko of the Minsk Municipal court convicted Dzianis Maksimau. The political prisoner was also charged with ‘insulting a government official’ and ‘inciting social hatred’ under Articles 369 and 130 of the Criminal Code. He was sentenced to 24 months of imprisonment in a general-security penal colony and a fine of 6,400 Belarusian rubles ($2,530).

Persecution of journalists

The authorities in Belarus continue their crackdown on the free press. Thirty-two journalists and media workers are imprisoned, while the freedom of speech is reserved exclusively for the pro-government media. This week, another two independent reporters were convicted:

• On October 27, 2022, Judge Alena Ananich of the Minsk Municipal Court found Aliaksandr (Ales) Liubenchuk, a journalist for Belorusy i rynok newspaper, guilty of ‘creating of or participation in an extremist formation’ and sentenced him to three years of imprisonment in a general-security penal colony under Part 3 of Article 361-1 of the Criminal Code.
• On September 26, 2022, investigative journalist Siarhei Satsuk was sentenced to eight years of imprisonment in a general-security penal colony. Judge Sviatlana Bandarenka of the Minsk Municipal Court found him guilty of ‘taking a bribe’ (Part 2 of Article 430 of the Criminal Code), ‘incitement of hatred’ (Part 2 of Art. 130 of the Criminal Code), and ‘abuse of power or official authority’ (Part 2 of Article 426 of the Criminal Code).

In addition to the jail term, Satsuk was also deprived of the right to hold managerial and administrative positions for a period of five years and has to pay a civil money penalty of 12,000 Belarusian rubles ($4,750).

The reason for the persecution of the journalist was the high-profile investigations, which primarily concerned large-scale corruption in healthcare, according to Satsuk's colleagues. The facts he received revealed unprecedented “kickbacks” for the supply of expensive equipment, the purchase of unregistered vaccines that were basically tried out on Belarusian children, and the COVID-19 data fraud in Belarus. The Ministry of Health knew about these facts, the journalist claimed. 

Released

Last week, five people finished serving their terms in full and were released from penal colonies:

• The administrator of the Drivers 97 dissident Telegram channel Dzianis Hutsin served two and a half years.
• A Russian national who appeared on the front page of Kamsamolskaya prauda newspaper with a photo from protests Vera Tsvikevich served 12 months. After her release, she was immediately brought to the Russian border, as Tsvikevich was banned from entering Belarus for five years. She was not even given time to pack her things.
• Aliaksandr Tsymbalist served 19 months. He was released just a few days after the sentence was pronounced, as the time he spent in pre-trial detention was credited towards his jail term.
• Sviatlana Sauchanka served 12 months
• Stanislau Paulinkovich served five and a half months, which he received when his custody measure was leveled up from the restricted freedom in an open-type penal facility.

Other news

• On November 10, Uladzislau Plushchau will be tried in a new criminal case.
• Yauhen Yushkevich, a former police investigator who started a project to help law enforcers get a new profession, will be tried under six articles of the Criminal Code. There are no charges of ‘terrorism’ among them.
• Blogger Dzmitry Tsimafeyeu is to be transferred from an open-type penal facility to the colony. Over the past two months, he has received 60 days in the punishment cell.
• Former political prisoner Anita Bakunovich, 19, has not been allowed a lawyer for a month. Bakunovich was detained on September 21 in Hrodna. She has been kept in the KGB detention center since September 24.
• Blogger Siarhei Tsikhanouski had spent two months in a punishment cell and was finally released.
• Aliaksei Korshun who escaped from an open-type penal facility a year ago was detained in Russia. The man was taken to Belarus on October 26. In Belarus, Korshun faces from one to three years in jail for the escape.