Update on trials and politically-motivated persecution

December 23, BPN. New cases of politically-motivated persecution were documented in Belarus on December 22.

Criminal proceedings

The Minsk Regional Court sentenced Vital Mielnik to 16 years in a high-security prison for an alleged act of sabotage carried out in protest against Russia’s assault on Ukraine, Dissidentby reported. He was also fined 9,600 rubels (about $3,565).

A court in Minsk sentenced Michaił Sudnik and his wife Darja to three years of restricted freedom in home confinement for participation in 2020 protests, the Viasna Human Rights Center reported. Authorities used a picture from a book on protests to charge them.

Viačasłaŭ Aŭčuk from Pinsk, Brest region, was sentenced to two years in prison for an online comment allegedly insulting Alaksandr Łukašenka.

Viasna’s jailed leaders will go on trial at a Minsk court on January 5. The Nobel Peace Prize winner Aleś Bialacki and his associates Valancin Stefanovič and Uładzimir Łabkovič face charges of smuggling cash across the border and financing protests. Źmicier Sałaŭjoŭ, who fled the country, would be tried in absentia as part of the same case.

Trials

Authorities jailed a worker from a Minsk district company (name withheld) for 13 days for a white-red-white flag sticker on his locker in the company’s changing room, Viasna said.

New criminal cases

Belarusian authorities started special proceedings against Uładzimir Astapienka, former Belarus’ ambassador to Argentina and current head of the opposition’s Brussels office, BPN reported. Prosecutors accuse the diplomat of large-scale embezzlement.

Dźmitryj Hulin from the Brest region faces charges of high treason for allegedly passing information on activities and locations of Russian troops in Belarus to the Ukrainian secret services, the Brest branch of Viasna said.

Release

Authorities released Maksim Lacuncevič, father of seven, after he had served in full a 22-month prison term for online comments on the 2021 shootout involving an IT engineer and KGB officers, known as the “Zielcer case.”

New political prisoners

Human rights defenders added eight more people to the political prisoners’ list, taking their total to 1,442 as of December 23, Viasna reported.