Eleven people recognized as political prisoners over defamation charges

Joint statement by the Belarusian human rights community

December 16, 2022

The Belarusian human rights community notes an increase in the number of convictions and imprisonments under several defamation and desecration of state symbols articles of the Criminal Code of the Republic of Belarus, and for other actions aimed at the lawful exercise of the freedom of expression.

We demand to put an end to the persecution of legitimate expression of views and, reaffirming our repeated calls to decriminalize defamation and to refrain from imposing custodial sentences for insulting officials, the state, government agencies, and symbols (as mentioned in the Joint statement of December 22, 2020), note the following:

At the moment we know about the following persons imprisoned for having allegedly insulted Mr. Aliaksandr Lukashenka, police officers, judges, desecrated state and state symbols, and exercised their freedom of opinion in other forms:

1. Ms. Alisa Ramanava was convicted of “insulting the president” under Part 1 of Article 368 of the Criminal Code and sentenced to 12 months of imprisonment in a penal colony.
2. Mr. Viktar Pilzhys was convicted of “defamation” (Article 188 of the Criminal Code), “illegal actions with respect to information about private life and personal data” (Part 3 of Article 203-1 of the Criminal Code), and “insult to a government official” (Article 369 0f the Criminal Code) for sharing on his personal page in social media a post regarding the police. He was sentenced to 24 months of imprisonment in a penal colony.
3. Mr. Mikhail Tarasevich was convicted of “insulting a judge, a government official, and the president” (Articles 391, 369 and part 1 of Article 368 of the Criminal Code respectively) and “threatening an employee of the internal affairs bodies and a government official performing official duties” (Article 364 and parts 1 and 3 of Article 366 of the Criminal Code) with his comments on the internet. He was sentenced to six years of imprisonment in a penal colony.
4. Mr. Aliaksei Mikhniuk was convicted of “insulting a government official” and “insulting the president” under Part 1 of Article 368 and Article 369 of the Criminal Code and sentenced to 18 months of imprisonment in a penal colony.
5. Mr. Siarhei Lialin was convicted of insulting a government official and insulting the leadership under Part 1 of Article 368 and Article 369 of the Criminal Code and sentenced to 24 months of imprisonment in a penal colony.
6. Mr. Vadzim Kalinin was convicted of “insulting the president” under Part 1 of Article 368 of the Criminal Code and sentenced to 12 months of imprisonment in a penal colony.
7. Mr. Dzmitryi Varanovich was convicted of “insulting a government official (part 1 of Article 368 of the Criminal Code) and “insulting the president” (Article 369 of the Criminal Code). He was sentenced to two and a half years of imprisonment in a penal colony.
8. Mr. Vital Korsak was convicted for “insulting the president” (Part 1 of Article 368 of the Criminal Code) and “desecration of state symbols” (Article 370 of the Criminal Code) for posting an image of the Nazi symbols in red and green colors. He was sentenced to 24 months of imprisonment in a penal colony.
9. Ms. Larysa Shchyrakova was taken into custody for “discrediting the Republic of Belarus”.
10. Mr. Maksim Darkovich was taken into custody for “insulting the president” (Part 1 of Article 368 of the Criminal Code).
11. Mr. Pavel Shaleinikau was convicted of “insulting a government official” under Article 369 of the Criminal Code and sentenced to 24 months of restricted freedom in an open-type penal facility. He has started to serve his sentence.

We consider the persecution and imprisonment of the persons listed above politically motivated in connection with the peaceful exercise of their views, and the convicts as political prisoners per paragraph 3.1 (a) of the Guidelines on the Definition of Political Prisoners. We, therefore, call on the Belarusian authorities to:

1. Immediately release political prisoners Ms. Alisa Ramanava, Mr. Viktar Pilzhys, Mr. Mikhail Tarasevich, Mr. Aliaksei Mikhniuk, Mr. Siarhei Lialin, Mr. Vadzim Kalinin, Mr. Dzmitryi Varanovich, Mr. Vital Korsak, Ms. Larysa Shchyrakova, Mr. Maksim Darkovich, and Mr. Pavel Shaleinikau and stop criminal proceedings against them.
2. Decriminalize defamation offenses and abolish the articles of the Criminal Code that institute liability for insulting government officials, the state, and state symbols, namely Articles 188, 189, 367, 368, 369, 369-1, 370, and 391 of the Criminal Code, and drop all ongoing criminal cases under these articles.
3. Immediately release all political prisoners and stop political repression.

Human Rights Center Viasna

PEN Belarus

Lawtrend

Belarusian Helsinki Committee

Barys Zvozskau Belarusian Human Rights House

Office for the Rights of Persons with Disabilities

Legal initiative