At least 32 convicts, torture, trials in absentia and behind closed doors: what is now known about the Black Book of Belarus case
The Black Book of Belarus (BBB) case is one of the most notorious criminal cases after the events of 2020. Dozens of people were detained for transferring personal data of people who, according to the initiative, were involved in election fraud, violence against peaceful protesters, and repression in Belarus to a chatbot of a Telegram channel of the same name. The participants of the initiative were discovered because from the very beginning, an employee of Main Directorate for Combating Organized Crime and Corruption (GUBAZiK) infiltrated into the project. According to the human rights activists of Viasna, at least 32 people were sentenced to long terms for leaking personal information. Five other people were convicted in absentia for the management of the channel. Detentions continue to this time. The defendants in pre-trial detention centers are waiting for the trials. A feature of the detentions in this case is that sometimes they are accompanied by beatings and torture. Viasna writes about the persecution in the the BBB case and political prisoners convicted of leaking personal information.
What is the BBB case?
The Black Book of Belarus project was launched in September 2020 as a response to mass violence by law enforcement officers. A Telegram channel of the same name published personal data of people who, according to the initiative, were involved in election fraud, violence against peaceful protesters, and repression in Belarus. It contained personal data of security forces, officials, judges, teachers, pro-government activists, and others, which anyone could contibute via a chatbot. In May 2021, it became known that almost from the moment of the project's creation, an employee of GUBAZiK, Artur Haiko, infiltrated it; he worked at BBB for ten months. Because of him, during this time, many people who transferred information to the initiative were detained. Mediazona told about this story in detail.
Detentions in the BBB case continue to this time. At least 32 people were sentenced to long terms. On average, they are sentenced to six years in a penal colony. Among them there are bank employees, former prosecutors, policemen and investigators, officials, a lawyer, a former lieutenant colonel of justice, a forensic expert, a musician, and an artist. Some of them were beaten and tortured during the detention by GUBAZiK employees.
The first detainees in the BBB case
- Artsoim Parkhamovich
The first person who was detained on October 22, 2020 for cooperation with the BBB on the report of GUBAZiK employee Artur Haiko was an ex-employee of Beltelecom Artsiom Parkhamovich. Volha Vysotskaya, one of the channel's administrators, told Mediazone about this in an interview. According to her, one of the informants of the BBB, an employee of Beltelecom, Artsiom Parkhamovich, claimed that during a night shift he could imperceptibly "look up 20 personal files" of the security forces.
On October 26, 2021, the Ministry of Internal Affairs posted a video with Parkhamovich: he talked about cooperating with the BBB and had noticeable wounds on his nose and eyebrows. On the same day, his colleague Aliaksei Bychkouski was detained. Later, Bychkouski's wife told Nasha Niva that her husband looked very beaten after his detention:
"I don't even want to say what they did to him, it was just humiliating. But, I was told, he was tased, he lost consciousness…"
In the Minsk City Court on February 8, 2022, Artsiom and Aliaksei were sentenced under eight articles of the Criminal Code to 11 years each in a medium security colony. The trial was held behind closed doors.
Beatings and torture
A distinctive feature of the Black Book of Belarus case is that many detainees went through beatings and torture. Let's recall some cases known to human rights defenders.
An employee of BelVEB Bank was detained in early July 2022 for leaking the personal data of security forces into the chatbot of the Black Book of Belarus. In early February 2023, he was sentenced to six years in a penal colony under three articles of the Criminal Code: Part 3 of Article 130 (inciting other social hatred), Article 352 (unlawful possession of computer information), Part 3 of Article 203-1 (illegal actions with respect to information about private life and personal data).
One of Vasil's former cellmates told the human rights activists of Viasna that the former was convicted of transferring the personal data of one law enforcement officer: the ex-chief of GUBAZiK Mikalai Karpiankou, and also that Vasil was beaten:
"He was badly beaten, even compared to those who were detained by GUBAZiK. His ribs were broken. GUBAZiK employees shaved Vasil's head. Moreover, they did not do it neatly, but shaved just some parts, so that some places on the head had hair and some did not. Such special attention to him was for a reason. As Vasil himself told, he did not leak the data of people to the Black Book of Belarus, but of one particular person: the ex-head of the GUBAZiK Mikalai Karpiankou.
Former investigator Mikita Starazhenka was sentenced in December 2022 to seven years in a medium security penal colony. According to the former cellmate of the political prisoner, it was Starazhenka who was appointed in 2020 to lead the case against a 16-year old boy beaten by the security forces (probably he talked about Tsimur Mitskevich). Then Mikita resigned from the investigative bodies as a sign of disagreement. Now he has been accused of leaking the contacts of the security forces under Part 3 of Article 130 of the Criminal Code (inciting other social enmity) and under Part 1 of Article 179 of the Criminal Code (illegal collection and dissemination of information about private life). In his "repentant" video, which was published by one of the pro-government Telegram channels, Mikita Starazhenka looks very scared, and injuries are visible on his face. He was indeed beaten after his detention, his cellmate confirmed to Viasna.
- A screenshot from a video posted by a Telegram channel affiliated with the security forces
“[Mikita] was blue all the way from his tailbone to his heels. Mikita said they had kicked him and beat him with truncheons, had wrapped a rag around his head, had put a trash can over his head, and had beat him on the trash can so there would be no marks left. But he still had a cut on his nose and a big scrape near the ear. Apparently he got hit on the nose quite hard, because it was red. He also had swollen lips, a bruise on his chin.
Political prisoner and street art artist (known as Dzima Dream) Dzmitryi Padrez was sentenced to seven years in prison a month and a half ago. He had been charged under three articles of the Criminal Code: Part 3 of Article 130 (incitement to hatred), Article 364 (threat of violence against police officer), and Article 365 (interference in activities of police officer) for transferring the data of the security forces to the Black Book of Belarus.
Dzmitry was detained on July 15 last year. Special forces officers roped down from the roof to his windows and broke into his apartment. Viasna human rights defenders learned from his former cellmate that political prisoner had been beaten and abused by police officers during his arrest.
“They ran into the bathroom, grabbed him, and put him on the floor. His hands were handcuffed. Officer Vysotski took a plaster model of a hand from the shelf, put a condom on it, and said: "Let's put it in his anus". Yet he put the plaster hand near Dzmitryi's head. And before that, the SWAT member kicked him in the thighs, and the other slapped his face. They asked for the password, and Dzmitryi gave it", said Dzmitryi's former cellmate.
"I realized that the detention is related to the Black Book of Belarus when I talked to another detainee in the cell"
- Siarhei Krupenich and Anastasia Krupenich-Kandratsieva. Photo: Belsat
Siarhei Krupenich, a software engineer from Minsk, who was detained with his wife Anastasia Krupenich-Kandratsieva on the BBB case, was held in the same cell with Dzmityi on Akrestsina on July 16, 2021. They were detained on July 15, 2021. In total, the spouses had 126 and 127 days of arrest under nine court decisions under Article 19.11 of the Administrative Code. Siarhei and Anastasia are among the record holders: they spent the greatest number of days in detention on Akrestsina.
"I realized that the detention is related to the Black Book of Belarus when I talked to another detainee [Dzmitryi Padrez] in the cell — he had a similar story," Siarhei told Viasna.
Siarhei and Anastasia managed to avoid a criminal case in the BBB case. After their unexpected premature release from detention, they left Belarus.
The first trial of the admins of the BBB Telegram channel
- Sofia Sapega in court
We are talking about Russian citizen Sofia Sapega, who was detained on May 23, 2021, along with Raman Pratasevich. They were returning from a vacation in Greece on a Ryanair plane. The plane was forced to land at the Minsk National Airport, as a result of which Sofia and Roman were detained. Sapega was detained for managing the Black Book of Belarus Telegram channel. Sofia was first put in the KGB pre-trial detention center, and then transferred to house arrest until trial.
On May 6, 2022, in the Hrodna Regional Court, Sofia was sentenced to six years in a penal colony under two articles of the Criminal Code — Part 3 of Article 130 (incitement to hatred as part of a group of persons) and Part 1 of Article 179 (illegal collection of information about private life). 223 people were recognized as victims in Sofia's case.
In early June, Sofia was sent to serve time in the Homel women's colony. On June 7, 2023, Sofia was released by pardon. She was imprisoned for 2 years and 14 days. Now Sofia is outside of Belarus.
Five people were sentenced in absentia to 12 years in prison for managing the Black Book of Belarus
On January 18, the first verdict in absentia was pronounced in the Minsk Municipal Court following the “special proceedings” against Black Book of Belarus project admins. Thus, the co-founder of the portals Tribuna.com and Sports.ru Dzmitryi Navosha, as well as Yanina Sazanovich, Daniil Bahdanovich, Valeryia Zaniamonskaya, and Volha Vysotskaya were sentenced to 12 years in a penal colony in absentia. Five people were charged under Part 3 of Article 130 (inciting other social hatred) and Part 3 of Article 203-1 of the Criminal Code (Illegal actions with respect to personal data). The trial was closed to the public and continued for about a month.
Prosecutors, officials, former policemen... Who was convicted for leaking to the BBB?
- Collage by Spring96.org
According to the estimates of human rights activists of Viasna, at least 32 people were convicted for transferring data to the chatbot of the Black Book of Belarus. The defendants in the case, in respect of whom the verdict comes into force, are included in the list of "persons involved in terrorist activities." Often, the trials in the BBB case take place behind closed doors.
Lawyer Anastasia Lazarenka was detained on June 2, 2022. On May 11, 2023, the Minsk City Court sentenced the political prisoner to six years in a general security penal colony. She was found guilty under three articles of the Criminal Code for leaking the data of security officers and judges in the BBB, as well as for participating in the March for Freedom in August 2020. Lazarenka did not admit her guilt at the trial.
Former policeman Andrei Harun was sentenced to seven years in prison in the BBB case. He was detained in October 2021 under Part 3 of Article 130 of the Criminal Code (inciting social hatred) and Part 1 of Article 179 of the Criminal Code (Illegal collection or dissemination of information about private life). On August 25, 2022, he was sentenced behind closed doors in the Mahileu Regional Court.
Sviatlana Bychkouskaya, a political prisoner, a former employee of the One Stop Shop service of the Kastryčnicki district of Minsk, was sentenced to five and a half years in a penal colony at the end of May 2023. She was tried on four criminal articles in the Black Book of Belarus case. The trial was held behind closed doors.
The head of the department of Minsk City Agency for State Registration and Land Cadastre Siarhey Petrushenka was detained in June 2021 for leaking personal data of employees of the Smarhon district police department to the BBB. According to Part 3 of Article 130 (inciting social hatred or enmity), Article 352 (illegal acquisition of computer information, this version of the article ceased to be in force on 05/26/2021), Article 203-1 Part 1 and Part 2 (illegal actions with respect to information about private life and personal data), Article 426 Part 3 (abuse of power or official authority) of the Criminal Code, on August 3, 2022, he was sentenced to six and a half years in prison.
At least two employees of the prosecutor's office were convicted in the the Black Book of Belarus case. These are Aleh Yermakou and Kanstantsin Prytulenka.
Aleh Yermakou was sentenced to six years in a penal colony on November 18, 2022 in the Minsk City Court for "illegal collection or dissemination of information about private life" (Part 1 of Article 179 of the Criminal Code) and "inciting other social hatred" (Part 1 of Article 130 of the Criminal Code). Judge Siarhei Khrypach punished the man with imprisonment in a high security penal colony for a period of six years.
Kanstantsin Prytulenka, a former assistant prosecutor of the Hluski district, was sentenced to six years in a penal colony for leaking data.
Mother and daughter Inna and Valeryia Hlinskaya, employees of MTBank, were convicted of transferring the data of the security forces to the Black Book of Belarus Telegram channel in 2020 under three articles: Part 3 of Article 130 (inciting other social hatred), Part 3 of Article 203-1 (illegal actions with respect to information about private life and personal data), Article 352 (illegal acquisition of computer information). On January 20, the Minsk City Court announced their sentence: 7 and 6.5 years in a general security penal colony respectively.
- Valeryia and Inna Hlinskaya in court
Artsiom Vouna, one of the top managers of the life:) mobile service provider, was also convicted in the Black Book of Belarus case. He was sentenced to eight years in a penal colony under three articles of the Criminal Code: Part 3 of Article 130 (inciting other social hatred), Part 1 of Article 179 (illegal collection or dissemination of information about private life), Article 352 (unlawful possession of computer information).
Irena Kliavets, a 40-year-old specialist of the Minsk City Agency for State Registration and Land Cadastre, was sentenced to six years of imprisonment in the Black Book of Belarus case. She was charged with four articles of the Criminal Code at once: Part 3 of Article 130 (inciting other social hatred), Part 3 of Article 203-1 (illegal actions with respect to information about private life and personal data), Part 3 of Article 352 (unlawful possession of computer information), Part 3 of Article 426 (abuse of power or official authority). Irina was detained in the summer of 2022.
This is not the whole list of those convicted in the BBB case. Also, the soloist of Zakon Huku band and the head of an MTS mobile service provider department Aliaksei Kuzmin, an engineer in the Mahileu City Electric Networks Uladzislau Kupryianau, a former district policeman Aleh Zubovich, an employee of the Minsk City Executive Committee Tatsiana Kolas, a former policeman detained at the border Kiryl Hniazdzilau, a former lieutenant colonel of justice in reserve Viachaslau Kandyba, an employee of the Beltelecom Dzmitryi Kakhanouski and others were convicted in this case.
