Philosopher Aliaksandr Fiaduta sentenced to 10 years in jail

On September 5, 2022, the Minsk Regional Court pronounced the verdicts on the high-profile case of ‘conspiracy to seize state power’, the trial of which had been ongoing since July 29.

‘Conspirators’ in court | Belta

Political scientist and literary critic Aliaksandr Fiaduta, leader of the BPF party Ryhor Kastusiou, activist and truck driver Dzianis Krauchuk, lawyer Yury Ziankovich and his law firm employee Volha Halubovich are the defendants in the case. They have been kept behind bars for more than 16 months. All except Kastusiou pleaded guilty. Ziankovich signed a pre-trial agreement and cooperated with the investigation. Judge Uladzimir Areshka passed the following sentences:

• Aliaksandr Fiaduta and Ryhor Kastusiou who were convicted of ‘conspiracy to seize power in an unconstitutional way’ under Part 1 of Article 357 of the Criminal Code received 10 years in jail.
• Yury Ziankovich who 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 accordingly received 11 years in jail.
• Dzianis Krauchuk and Volha Halubovich who were convicted of active participation in group actions that grossly violate the public order under Part 1 of Article 342 of the Criminal Code received 2.5 years in jail. 

Prosecutor Mikhail Kavaliou asked for longer terms for all of the accused in the case.

The five defendants in the case were detained in April 2021 and have remained in custody since then. Aliaksandr Fiaduta and Yury Ziankovich were detained on April 12 in Moscow, Russia. Ryhor Kastusiou and Volha Halubovich were detained on the same day in Belarus. Two weeks later, on April 26, Dzianis Krauchuk was detained. 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”.

Shortly thereafter, state television aired a documentary, which revealed that the defendants had been followed for a long time by the special services and that the officers with whom they interacted were framing them. The KGB also reported that a total of nine people have been investigated for the ‘seizure of power’: Dzmitryi Shchyhelski, Aliaksandr Perapechka, Pavel Kulazhenka, Vital Makaranka, and Ihar Makar, as well as Fiaduta, Ziankovich, Kastusiou, Halubovich. The former five were abroad and thus avoided detention.

It is known that these people participated in a Zoom meeting, during which they discussed the future of Belarus, and possible changes in the country, some radical proposals were also voiced. Later, some of the participants were offered a meeting with Belarusian law enforcement officers in a Moscow restaurant. During this meeting, they were provoked to make various statements. Immediately after the meeting Ziankovich and Feduta were arrested.

The ‘conspirators’ have been held behind bars for more than 16 months, and the state of health of some has deteriorated with Kastusiou being even diagnosed with cancer.