4 years in prison for climbing a garbage container: Political prisoner Pavel Lukayanau convicted in Minsk
On October 1, political prisoner Pavel Lukayanau was sentenced to 4 years of imprisonment in a medium-security penal colony on “rioting” charges related to a post-election protest of August 10, 2020.
- Pavel Lukayanau
The Centraĺny District Court of Minsk was convicted of attending a protest in central Minsk, which resulted in “disruption of transport communications.” Among other things, Lukayanau allegedly helped set up barricades and climbed a garbage container. The reported damage caused by this was estimated at 345 rubles 5 kopecks.
In court, the political prisoner argued that he did not shout any slogans and did not take part in the construction of the barricades.
- A screenshot of a video allegedly showing Pavel Lukayanau on top of a garbage container during a protest on August 10, 2020
The criminal trial against Lukayanau lasted only a few hours. The court session started in the morning and the verdict was announced at 4 pm. Prosecutor Artsiom Tsviatkou insisted that the defendant should be sentenced to 4 years in prison under Part 2 of Art. 293 of the Criminal Code. Judge Dzmitry Karsiuk handed down this exact punishment a couple of hours later.
