At least 24 political prisoners released in February having served their sentences

At the moment, there are 1,414 political prisoners in Belarus, and their number is increasing almost weekly. At the same time, every month several dozen political prisoners leave their places of detention either after the expiration of the term, or after the trial before being sent to an open-type correctional institution or at the beginning of their home confinement. According to Viasna, at least 24 people were released in February, who served their sentences in full, and four of them spent more than three years behind bars. Three more people were sentenced to home confinement and released from a pre-trial detention facility. Viasna recounts their cases and terms in the monthly digest. 

Political prisoner Maksim Siarheyenka — 2 years, 10 months, and 10 days of imprisonment

Maksim is an ambulance driver from Mahilioŭ. He was convicted of "hanging" dolls with officials' faces under Part 2 of Article 339 of the Criminal Code (Hooliganism committed by a group of persons) and under Article 368 of the Criminal Code (Insulting the president). In April 2021, Siarheyenka was sentenced to three years in a general security penal colony.

The man served his term in the Navapolack colony. On February 29, Maksim was released, having fully served his sentence, writes MAYDAYMog.

In January, during a KGB crackdown on friends and relatives of political prisoners, as well as former political prisoners, Maksim's wife Alesia was detained. Now the woman is in a pre-trial detention centre as part of a criminal case. They have two children, 3 and 16 years old.

Political prisoner Uladzimir Harbavets — 1 year, 11 months, and 25 days of imprisonment

Uladzimir Harbavets is a defendant in the so-called Dancing protest case initiated after the protest action in Brest on September 13, 2020, under Article 342 of the Criminal Code. He was sentenced to two years of restriction of freedom with referral to an open-type correctional facility. 

Since March 4, 2022, Uladzimir has been serving his term in open-type correctional facility No. 43. According to Brest Viasna, the political prisoner was released on February 22.

Political prisoner Pavel Piaskou — 3 years, 5 months, and 10 days of imprisonment 

Pavel was the first to receive a political sentence for the events after the 2020 elections. He was accused of resisting an employee of the internal affairs bodies connected with the use of violence (Part 2 of Article 363 of the Criminal Code) at a protest on June 19, 2020 in Maladzečna, where a riot policeman pulled out a gun. Pavel was sentenced to three years and three months in a penal colony.

He was later sentenced to another year of imprisonment for "malicious disobedience to the demands of the colony administration."

Political prisoner Yauhen Zialkouski — 3 years, 2 months, and 27 days of imprisonment 

On May 18, 2021, the resident of Homieĺ was sentenced to three years and six months in a general security penal colony for "malicious hooliganism" (Part 2 of Article 339 of the Criminal Code). At the trial, he spoke about torture by the police.

According to the investigation, Zialkouski twice set up white-red-white flags with a firecracker and a caricature of riot police in the deserted places of Homieĺ. Yauhen Zialkouski pleaded not guilty to malicious hooliganism in particular. He set up white-red-white flags in deserted places at night.

The political prisoner served his term in penal colony No. 3 in Viciebsk. 

Political prisoner Volha Klimkova — 3 years, 2 months, and 9 days of imprisonment

Volha was detained in Mahilioŭ on November 24, 2020. More than 800 copies of an unregistered newspaper Mogilyovskie Vesti were found in the woman's car.

The woman was found guilty under Part 2 of Article 339 of the Criminal Code (Hooliganism committed by a group of persons) and Article 368 of the Criminal Code (insulting Lukashenka). Volha, as well as Maksim Siarheyenka and Siarhei Skok were accused of making six life-size dolls "with cynical inscriptions and images of senior officials," placing them on overpasses near the villages of Vilčycy and Liubuž, photographing them, and distributing the pictures online. 

On April 19, 2021, Klimkova was sentenced to 3.5 years in a general security penal colony. She served her sentence in penal colony No. 4; she was released on February 4. 

Political prisoner Mikhail Feranets — 3 years, 4 months, and 18 days of imprisonment 

On September 20, 2021, Zavadski District Court of Minsk sentenced the political prisoner and citizen of Ukraine to three years in a penal colony. Feranets was accused of participating in three Marches in 2020, as well as organizing through the administration of the Smielyia Ludzi Telegram channel, making protest inscriptions and drawings, hanging red-white-red ribbons in the yards of the Frunzenski district of Minsk.

The native of Donetsk, who has lived in Belarus for more than ten years, was detained on September 16, 2020, and for 7 months he was held as a foreigner in the temporary detention facility on Akrescina awaiting deportation from the country.

Mikhail was released at the end of his sentence on December 16, 2023 and immediately detained and placed in a temporary detention facility in Mahilioŭ. On February 1, 2024, the political prisoner was released, but was immediately deported from Belarus. 

Three political prisoners were released after the trial

In February, the Belarusian courts in the absolute majority sentenced political prisoners to imprisonment. Only three people were released from pre-trial detention facilities after the trials being sentenced to restricted freedom under home confinement But these data may be incomplete, since not all the results of the trials of political prisoners are yet known to human rights defenders. These are:

• Hanna Kruk — three years of home confinement;
• Mikalai Shliazhko — two and a half years of home confinement;
• Ina Shliazhko — two and a half years of home confinement.