Court restricts Wikipedia editor’s freedom

June 24, BPN. A court in Minsk on June 24 sentenced IT specialist and Wikipedia editor Mark Biernštejn, 56, to three years of restricted freedom without sending him to an open-type correctional facility, the Viasna Human Rights Center reported.

Judge Anastasija Asipčyk convicted him of organizing/participating in actions grossly disturbing public order.

Biernštejn was arrested in Minsk on March 11. According to human rights activists, the arrest was carried out by officers of the Ministry of Internal Affairs’ organized crime unit “at the request of the Russian Federal Security Service (FSB).”

One day earlier, a Russian pro-government Telegraph account claimed that Biernštejn’s editing of Wikipedia articles about the Russian invasion of Ukraine violated the law.

On April 7, Wikipedia editor Pavieł Piernikaŭ (30) was sentenced to two years in prison. He was charged with “discrediting the Republic of Belarus” by making edits to Wikipedia articles and writing a piece on torture and murder of Belarusians for a German human rights organization’s website.

Offenders sentenced to restricted freedom without referral to an open-type correctional facility are confined to their residence during non-working hours and are required to retain or seek employment. Law enforcement officers can visit their home or place of employment anytime to make sure they comply with the terms of confinement.