January 9, Pozirk. A Belarusian court sentenced Baptist preacher Mikałaj Chiła, an employee of the EU Delegation in Belarus, to four years in prison late last year, Politico reported.
It quotes Anitta Hipper, an EU spokeswoman on foreign affairs and security policy, who called for his immediate and unconditional release on December 18.
Investigators may have accused Chiła of insulting Alaksandar Łukašenka after arresting him in Minsk in April 2024, the website reported, citing the Viasna Human Rights Center.
It also cited an unnamed EU official saying that KGB agents arrested the man in front of the EU office in Belarus.
According to the Belarusian e-justice portal, authorities charged Chiła with calling for sanctions and inciting hatred and put him on trial at the Minsk City Court.
Human rights activists declared him a political prisoner.
Also read: Reprisals: 20 branded “extremists,” 10 declared political prisoners
