What happened to political prisoners on October 3–9
Ales Bialiatski. Illustration by Current Time
There are currently 1,348 political prisoners in Belarus—and counting. Every week the courts keep handing down new sentences and laying new charges against those already in custody. But there are also those who have served their term and are finally released. Viasna has collected all the news about political prisoners from the first week of October.
Human rights defenders from Belarus, Ukraine, and Russia honored the Nobel Peace Prize
Ales Bialiatski awarded the Nobel Peace Prize 2022
Political prisoner Ales Bialiatski, human rights defender and Chair of Viasna, was awarded the 2022 Nobel Peace Prize together with our fellows from the Ukrainian Center for Civil Liberties and the Russian human rights organization Memorial. Bialiatski was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize for the sixth time this year. He became the fourth person to receive the prize in prison or detention.
The Nobel Committee's decision was hailed by both domestic and the international community.
Political prisoner count
This week the list of political prisoners was updated with 25 new names.
Latest convictions
Between October 3–9, human rights defenders learned about at least five political prisoners who were convicted in courts:
Three people were convicted in the notorious Zeltser case brought after the fatal shooting between KGB officer Dzmitryi Fedasiuk and IT specialist Andrei Zeltser. All of them were found guilty of ‘inciting hatred’ and ‘insulting government official’ under Articles 130 and 369 of the Criminal Code:
- Siarhei Kireyenka was sentenced to three and a half years of imprisonment in a general-security penal colony by Judge Ruslan Tsaruk of the Homieĺ Regional Court on September 23, 2022.
- Vital Hryhal was sentenced to 19 months of imprisonment in a general-security penal colony by Judge Valiantsina Ziankevich of the Minsk Municipal Court On September 26, 2022.
- Raman Ahnishchanka was sentenced to 24 months of imprisonment in a general-security penal colony and a fine of 3,200 Belarusian rubles ($1,260) by Judge Maryia Aliferuk of the Maskoŭski District Court of Brest on September 28, 2022.
Further convictions in political criminal cases:
- On October 3, 2022, an off-site hearing of Kiryl Davidziuk’s case was commenced in the Kobryn district police department. Davidziuk was accused of ‘desecrating state symbols’ under Article 370 of the Criminal Code for a broken pole of the state flag. Judge Iryna Dziatsuk found him guilty and sentenced him to 24 months of imprisonment in a penal colony.
- On August 23, 2022, the Saviecki District Court of Minsk convicted Miraslau Sabchuk, an independent trade union activist, of participating in ‘group actions that grossly violate public order’ under Article 342 of the Criminal Code. Judge Volha Yemialyanchanka sentenced the political prisoner to 18 months of freedom restriction under home confinement.
Released
Unfortunately, there was no news last week on released political prisoners.
Other news
Activist Alena Hnauk from Pruzhany was partially deprived of parcels and visits.
Researcher and analyst Tatsiana Vadalazhskaya started serving her sentence in an open-type penal facility.
Uladzislau Barysau was deprived of visits in the colony. He fears that he may be deprived of parcels as well.
Artsiom Kalashuk from Mahilioŭ, who was previously sentenced to eight months in jail, will be tried again.
Amnesty International has launched a campaign to support Siarhei Tsikhanouski, who has been held in a punishment cell for 50 days.
Brest activist Palina Sharenda-Panasiuk has not been released from the punishment cell. She has been there for more than 30 days in a row, and her lawyer is not allowed to see her.
Political prisoner Zmitser Dashkevich was placed in the punishment cell immediately after his transfer to the colony.
