At least 15 people were released having served their sentence in October, one of them a woman
Now 1293 people are recognized as political prisoners, and their number is increasing almost weekly. At the same time, every month several dozen political prisoners leave their places of detention either after the expiration of the sentence or after the trial before being sent to an open-type correctional facility or to serve time in home confinement. According to Viasna human rights activists, at least 1,274 people have left penal facilities since 2020. In October, at least 17 people were released: 15 fully served their sentences, of which there was only one woman, and two more political prisoners were sentenced to home confinement and released from a pre-trial detention center. Viasna recounts their cases and terms in the monthly digest.
We publish the stories of some of them.
Political prisoner Illia Mihno — more than 4 years and 1 month of imprisonment
At the time of his arrest, Illia was a second year student at Brest Polytechnic University. He was detained on August 18, 2020, for participating in protests. He was later convicted under Part 2 of Article 293 of the Criminal Code (participation in mass riots).
On March 10, 2021, Illia and other defendants in this criminal case were sentenced in the Maskoŭski District Court of Brest. He was sentenced to four and a half years in a medium security penal colony.
The political prisoner was released from penal colony No. 15 in October 2024.
Political prisoner Volha Kavaliova — more than 2 years, 7 months of imprisonment
The woman was detained on March 17, 2022, for comments on the Internet under three articles of the Criminal Code: Article 364 of the Criminal Code (threat of violence against a police officer), Article 391 of the Criminal Code (insulting a judge), Article 369 of the Criminal Code (insulting a representative of the authorities).
According to the charge, she left offensive comments and made threats against 50 officials: judges, prosecutors, employees of internal affairs bodies, state security, investigative bodies, and members of precinct election commissions.
At the end of September 2022, she was sentenced to three years of imprisonment. According to human rights activists, at the end of October, the political prisoner was released from Homieĺ penal colony No. 4.
Political prisoner Maksim Zaitsau — more than 1 year and 10 months of imprisonment
The man worked at a drug dependence clinic in Brest.
On February 14, 2023, in the Brest District Court, he was sentenced to two years in a general security penal colony and a fine of 3700 roubles (more than 1000 euros).
Judge Siarhei Maruchak found Maksim guilty under Part 1 of Article 368 (insulting Lukashenka) and Article 369 (insulting a representative of the authorities) of the Criminal Code. The prosecutor was Natallia Shastachuk. The political prisoner served his term in penal colony No. 15 in Mahilioŭ.
Political prisoner Raman Karpuk — more than 2 years and 8 months of imprisonment
In August 2022, Raman was sentenced to three years in a penal colony for sending 99 letters to members of the referendum commissions on behalf of judges in political cases. The text of the letters contained appeals to count votes honestly, to report violations at polling stations and a list of articles of the Criminal Code stipulating liability for faking vote results.
Raman studied in his first year at the Brest Pushkin University, but he was expelled during his imprisonment. The man was detained in February 2022. He served time in Navapolack penal colony No. 1.
Political prisoner Yauhen Kavalenka — more than 2 years of imprisonment
In the Minsk Regional Court in the summer of 2023, Yauhen was sentenced to two and a half years in a penal colony. He was charged under five articles of the Criminal Code, including participation in protests and inciting other social hatred. Yauhen was sent to serve his sentence in penal colony No. 1 and released at the end of October.
Political prisoner Illia Shakirau — more than 1 year and 10 months of imprisonment
Illia is a citizen of the Russian Federation and a leading software engineer at one of the Belarusian enterprises. The political prisoner was detained on November 30, 2022. He was accused of "violence or threat of violence against an employee of the internal affairs bodies", the former head of the Main Directorate for Combating Organized Crime and Corruption (GUBOPiK) Dzmitry Kovach (Article 364 of the Criminal Code).
On March 13, 2023, the Partyzanski District Court of Minsk sentenced Shakirau to two years in a penal colony. The case was handled by Judge Aliaksandr Supichenka.
The man was serving time in penal colony No. 15. It is estimated that he was released in October 2024.
Political prisoner Siarhei Tratsiuk — more than 3 years and 6 months of imprisonment
The Brest resident worked as a turner before his imprisonment. He has a minor daughter. The man was convicted for participating in protests in Brest in August 2020 under Part 2 of Article 293 of the Criminal Code (participation in mass riots). Siarhei was sentenced to four years in a medium security penal colony.
Siarhei initially served time in penal colony No. 22, but later his punishment was increased and he was transferred to a prison security level in Mahilioŭ.
