Extradited activist gets 12 years in prison on terrorism-related charges

June 6, BPN. The Minsk City Court has sentenced opposition activist Jana Pinčuk to 12 years in prison following her extradition from Russia to Belarus, the Viasna Human Rights Center reports.

Judge Taćciana Falkoŭskaja, known for passing politically motivated sentences, presided over the closed trial.

Authorities accused the activist of establishing a terrorist organization, staging riots, inciting hatred, calling for overthrowing the government and heading an extremist group.

The Prosecutor General’s Office said earlier that Pinčuk allegedly set up the Telegram channel called Viciebsk 97% between September 2020 and November 2021. In July 2022, the interior ministry blacklisted it as extremist.

Pinčuk, a Belarusian national who lived in Russia, was arrested in St Petersburg in November 2021.

In March 2022, the Russian Prosecutor General’s Office ordered her extradition to Belarus. Four months later, the St Petersburg City Court upheld that ruling despite the UN Human Rights Committee’s ban on the extradition.

Human rights groups say Pinčuk’s persecution is politically motivated.