What happened to political prisoners on December 5–11

There are currently 1,437 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 December 5–11.

Latest convictions

Last week, Viasna received the reports of at least five people convicted in court.

• On November 11, 2022, Judge Aliaksei Khlyshchankou of the Homieĺ regional court sentenced Ruslan Asiatrou to two and a half years in a general-security penal colony. Ruslan Asiatrou was arrested on September 29, 2021, in a criminal case opened for comments on the Internet after the death of KGB officer Dzmitryi Fedasiuk and IT specialist Andrei Zeltser. He was convicted of “incitement to social hatred” under Article 130 of the Criminal Code.
• On December 2, 2022, Judge Yuliya Chyzh of the Frunzienski District Court of Minsk sentenced Valiantsin Mitskevich to three years of restricted freedom under home confinement. He was charged with ‘active participation in group actions that grossly violate the public order’ under Article 342 of the Criminal Code. Mitskevich was detained in late September 2022, two months after his wife, political prisoner Dziyana Mitskevich, for participation in protests.
• On December 6, 2022, Judge Ruslan Tsaruk of the Homieĺ Regional Court convicted a former teacher from Chojniki Iryna Abdukeryna of:
  • “creation of an extremist formation, or participation in it” (Art. 361-1),
  • “incitement to hatred” (Art. 130),
  • “financing the activities of an extremist group” (Art. 361-2), and
  • “discrediting Belarus” (Art. 369-1).

Abdukeryna was sentenced to four years of imprisonment in a general-security penal colony. She was also fined 3,200 Belarusian rubles (approx. US$1,260). Abdukeryna was detained at her summer house on the morning of April 5. The reason for the arrest was that the woman had allegedly recorded the movement of a Russian military convoy and forwarded the video to the Bielaruski hajun Telegram channel. Her case is one of many brought for anti-war actions by Belarusians.

• On December 7, 2022, Judge Zhanna Brysina pronounced a sentence in another case related to the death of Fedasiuk and Zeltser. Aliaksandr Loban was also convicted of “incitement to hatred”. He received 21 months in a general-security penal colony. The trial was closed to the public. The political prisoner had served his sentence in the detention center, so he was released from custody.
• On December 8, 2022, Judge Ruslan Huryn of the Lieninski district court of Hrodna found a musician from Hrodna Kiryl Zhaludok guilty and sentenced him to 12 months of imprisonment in a general-security penal colony. Zhaludok was detained on 8 August 2022 on charges of insulting Lukashenka (Article 368 of the Criminal Code). Until the trial, he had been in pre-trial detention.

Released

Last week, five people finished serving their terms in full and were released.

Four Brest residents convicted in the first trial in the Dancing Protest case were released:

• Viktar Dzenisenka, Yauhen Kalpachyk, and Mikalai Fedarenka served their 18 months open-type jail term, having spent 545 days in custody.
• Vital Zaradzei has spent more than 600 days in jail. He was released from a penal colony after he finished his 24-month term of imprisonment.

Political activist Aleh Barazna was released after 606 days of imprisonment. He served in full his two-and-a-half-year jail time.

Other news

Anarchist activist Ihar Alinevich sentenced to 20 years in a high-security penal colony was placed in a penal cell in November.

There is no contact with Henadz Smirnou. Presumably, he is back in the punishment cell.

Truck driver Valeryi Trotski will be tried for " high treason" (Art. 356 of the Criminal Code).

Alena Maushuk, 46, in the colony was deprived of parental rights. It is known that she has been repeatedly placed in a punishment cell.

Artist Ivan Viarbitski will be tried for malicious disobedience to the administration of the colony (Art. 411 of the Criminal Code).