Yury Ziankovich sentenced to additional 2 years of imprisonment. He is currently in the KGB pre-trial detention center
The defendant in the Сonspiracy case Yury Ziankovich, a citizen of Belarus and the US, has been imprisoned for almost three and a half years. During this period, he has already been tried three times on criminal charges and transferred to the prison security level. The last time, in August 2024, he was accused of "malicious disobedience to the prison administration" (Article 411 of the Criminal Code) and sentenced to two more years of imprisonment. According to Viasna, the political prisoner is constantly under pressure: he was placed in a punitive isolation cell (SHIZO) many times, deprived of care packages, and was not allowed to shop. In protest, Yury went on hunger strike several times. In addition, the political prisoner's health has seriously deteriorated. A few months ago, for unknown reasons, he was transferred to the KGB pre-trial detention centre. In September, BT TV-channel aired a video where a much thinner Ziankovich talked about how he allegedly wanted to "seize power" in 2021. Viasna has collected all known information about the persecution of the political prisoner as well as about his health.
- Yury Ziankovich in a propaganda video
New criminal articles
Yury Ziankovich is a Belarusian politician and an American lawyer. The man has US citizenship. Together with other defendants in the Conspiracy case, he was detained in April 2021. After that, the KGB of Belarus and the FSB of Russia announced that they had prevented an assassination attempt on Lukashenka and his sons, and uncovered a “coup d'état”. Ziankovich is the only one of the five defendants in this case who has cooperated with the investigation. He fully admitted his guilt and did not deny that he organized the conspiracy. He also apologized to his accomplices.
He was convicted of "conspiracy to seize state power by unconstitutional means", "creating and leading an extremist formation", "public appeals to seize state power", and "incitement to hatred" under Part 1 of Article 357, Part 1 of Article 361-1, Part 3 of Article 361, and Part 3 of Article 130 of the Criminal Code. In September 2022, Yury was sentenced to 11 years in a medium security penal colony.
Three months later, the political prisoner was tried in a new criminal case. Ziankovich was accused of "insulting a representative of the authorities" (Article 369 of the Criminal Code). The reason for this was "offensive comments in a Telegram channel recognized as extremist." In December 2022, the Miadzeĺ Court added six more months to his sentence.
The political prisoner initially served his term in Babrujsk penal colony No. 2. The administration of the penal colony forced the political prisoner to take out buckets with excrement and wash the toilet, and when he refused, they sent him to a punitive isolation cell (SHIZO). The political prisoner went on a hunger strike in response. Later, Yury's punishment was increased and, by the decision of the Babrujsk Court, he was transferred to a prison security level in Mahilioŭ.
According to Viasna human rights activists, he was deprived of care packages in Mahilioŭ prison No. 4, and he was also not allowed to have money in his account for shopping. The administration was constantly putting pressure on Yury and kept him in SHIZO for a long time. Because of this, the political prisoner went on hunger strikes several times. Besides, he could only communicate with a priest. He has not been allowed to see his lawyer since March 2024.
In August 2024, Yury was convicted in Mahilioŭ in the third criminal case. This time he was charged under Article 411 of the Criminal Code (malicious disobedience to the prison administration). Judge Viktoryia Paliakova sentenced him to two more years of imprisonment in addition to 11 years and six months.
Belarusian political prisoners in high-security prisons: pressure intensifies
Health
According to Viasna, Yury has been in the KGB pre-trial detention centre in Minsk since the end of summer. At the end of September, a video about political prisoners was aired on BT TV-channel. In the video, Ziankovich talked about the alleged preparations for the seizure of power in 2021. At the end of the video, Ziankovich said that he had written a petition for pardon and was appealing to the US presidential candidates to help him return to Texas.
The film shows how much weight Yury Ziankovich lost during his imprisonment due to the inhumane conditions of detention. He is very pale, and has an unhealthy appearance. According to human rights activists, Yury has serious health issues, including blood pressure problems that require constant medication. Also, the political prisoner has anemia and vitamin deficiency, experiences severe weight loss from exhaustion, and his skin is peeling due to a lack of vitamins.
"I'm probably just going to die here": The situation of political prisoners from vulnerable groups
