Employee of the EU delegation in Belarus sentenced to 4 years in a penal colony

At the end of December, 41-year-old Mikalai Khila was convicted in Minsk. He was found guilty under two articles: Part 1 of Article 130 of the Criminal Code (incitement of other social hatred or hostility) and Part 3 of Article 361 of the Criminal Code (calls for sanctions). Judge Alena Ananich sentenced Mikalai to four years of imprisonment, writes Politico.

Mikalai is a Protestant preacher at the Evangelical Christian Baptist Church Dabravestsie, as well as an employee of the EU delegation to Belarus. He was detained on October 24, 2023. According to the official representative of the EU, the detention took place near the building of the EU delegation by employees of the Belarusian KGB.

The trial of the political prisoner began on December 23 in the Minsk City Court.