One year of house arrest for changing words of national anthem

On 28 June 2020, the Kastryčnicki District Court of Minsk passed a sentence on 26-year-old Hanna Vazhnik. She was found guilty under Article 370 of the Criminal Code and sentenced to one year of restricted freedom (house arrest).

Hanna rearranged one verse of the anthem and posted it on Twitter. It started with the phrase "We are extremists - peaceful people..." According to the accusation, she made a mockery of the national symbol, the anthem.

The woman works as a music teacher. She was detained on 28 April and released three days later on her parents' personal guarantee.

Hanna Vazhnik said she had made a mistake and hadn't intended to mock the anthem but wanted to point at the people who had taken destructive actions against the authorities. The defendant stressed that she was apolitical, like her whole family.