Latvian citizen on trial in Minsk after police found criticism of Lukashenka in his phone
The Minsk Municipal Court is hearing the criminal case against Latvian citizen Dmitrijs Mihailovs who is accused of a number of “protest” articles. Judge Sviatlana Charapanava presides the trial.
Dmitriys Mihailous, 44, holds a temporary residence permit in the Minsk region. He is accused of “calling for restrictive measures, aimed at causing harm to the national security of Belarus” (part 3 of Art. 361 of the СС), “inciting social hatred” (part 2 of Art. 130 of the CC), “insulting a government official” (Art. 369 of the CC), and “insulting the president” (parts 1 and 2 of Art. 368 of the CC).
A Latvian citizen was detained on March 1, 2022, and placed in pre-trial detention center No. 1 in Minsk.
In October, Mihailous was included in the list of persons related to terrorist activities.
It is mentioned in this document that the man is charged under two articles of the Criminal Code of Belarus. It is also stated that the citizen of Latvia was temporarily registered in the Minsk region.
“Currently, one Latvian citizen was detained. His phone was checked and the authorities were not happy with messages condemning the Lukashenka regime. He has been placed in custody," said parliamentary secretary of the Latvian Foreign Ministry Zanda Kalniņa-Lukaševica. “Although consular officers promptly arrived to meet with the detainee, he was no longer there, as he had been placed in a closed psychiatric hospital for a month to undergo expert examinations.”
The trial commenced on December 14.
