Trial outcome 21.10.2024: unknown years restrictions of freedom without referral to an open-type correctional facility.
- Associations
- Foreign citizens
On the morning of February 26, 2023, in the vicinity of the military airfield of the 50th mixed base of the Belarusian Air Force in Machulishchi (Minsk region), local residents heard several explosions. According to BYPOL, they were the result of an attack by a drone of "Belarusian partisans" on a Russian military airborne early warning and control aircraft (AEW&C) A-50. On March 7, 2023, Lukashenko confirmed the information that the aircraft was in Russia, as well as the fact of the attack in Machulishchi. On the same day , the authorities reported that a Ukrainian citizen, Nikolai Shvets, was detained in this case, as alleged, and was named as the perpetrator of the sabotage. Later, state TV channels released an "investigation" about him. Before the sabotage, the man lived in Minsk for a month. At the end of June 2024, Minsk handed over Nikolai Shvets to Ukraine, who was accused of blowing up a military aircraft in the village of Machulishchi.
Trial outcome 03.10.2024: 25 years of imprisonment in colony under enhanced security conditions, 1000 basic values fine (trial in absentia).
Trial outcome 08.08.2024: 1 year of imprisonment in colony under general regime conditions.
Appeal 04.10.2024: unknown.
- Associations
- Parents of minors
Trial outcome 04.10.2024: 6 months of imprisonment in colony under general regime conditions.
Director of the Sakavitsa enterprise - the former Molodechno factory of art products. Sergei Sobolevsky was charged with Parts 1 and 3 of Art. 210 of the Criminal Code (“Takeover of property using official powers”), which, according to him, the investigators invented on their knees, is already in court. There was no evidence. Sergei Sobolevsky said in an interview that already when he was behind bars, KGB officers came to him three times with an offer to testify against Sergei Tikhanovsky (they also came to the Vitebsk colony) - and immediately go home. The convict categorically refused.
2 years imprisonment
- Associations
- Journalists
- Cultural workers
- Athletes
Director of TV commercials and music videos, journalist, political activist and co-founder of the Free Association of Athletes SOS BY, recognized in Belarus as an "extremist group." Andrei Gnet was arrested by Serbian authorities upon landing at Belgrade airport in October 2023, based on an Interpol warrant issued at the request of Belarus. Andrei has been in custody since his arrest; on June 6, 2024, he was transferred to house arrest without permission to leave his apartment.
On October 31, 2024, he was released from house arrest.
He was found guilty of “slander against Alexander Lukashenko.” The reason was a comment on the news in one of the telegram channels, which contained sharp criticism of the politician.
Trial outcome 20.06.2024: 2 years of imprisonment in colony under general regime conditions.
Appeal 13.08.2024: unknown.
- Associations
- Foreign citizens
Citizen of Germany. It is known that Rico previously worked as a special security officer for the American Foreign Ministry in Berlin. After this position, he moved into the healthcare field, working as a nurse. According to his linkedin page, the man was a military doctor for the Red Cross.
Rico Krieger was found guilty of “committing an explosion in order to influence decision-making by authorities, intimidate the population, destabilize public order (an act of terrorism), committed by a person who had previously committed a crime under Part 4 of Art. 295 of the Criminal Code, by an organized group, that is, in the commission of a crime under Part 3 of Art. 289 of the Criminal Code."
Based on it, Krieger was given an exceptional punishment in the form of death penalty (execution).
Human rights activists also learned that the case of the military doctor concerns the Kalinovsky regiment, namely its structural unit, the foreign mechanized battalion "Western".
It is known that the man left behind a minor child in Germany. It is also noted that at the moment there is no information whether the verdict was appealed or protested, and whether it entered into legal force.
08/01/2024 Rico Krieger was released as part of an exchange between Russia and the West.
Trial outcome 24.07.2024: death penalty.
A pensioner from Glubokoe. She has two children: a son who is finishing school, and an adult daughter with her own family.
On March 31, 2020, blogger Sergei Tikhanovsky, author of the YouTube channel "Country for Life", came to Glubokoe and streamed from the main square for his subscribers. Lyudmila also came to the meeting. She spoke about the life of people in her hometown, expressed her opinion on the policies of Alexander Lukashenko and the coronavirus epidemic.
On October 9, the presidium of the Vitebsk Regional Court “released” Lyudmila and removed her conviction.
Trial outcome 08.05.2024: 2 years of imprisonment in colony under general regime conditions (trial in absentia).
Appeal 09.10.2024: unknown.
Trial outcome 24.04.2024: 1 year 6 months of imprisonment in colony under general regime conditions.
Appeal 25.06.2024: unknown.
Yuri is a boiler room operator. He was found guilty of attempting to knock down a national flag from a store in February 2024. The man allegedly "made at least two blows to the shaft." When he failed to knock down the flag, he brought a wooden ladder from the house, climbed up it, grabbed the flag pole with his hands and pulled it down: because of this, the pole broke. According to the indictment, Tomashev then “carelessly crumpled the flag, wrapping it around a tree” and took it to his barn, where he kept it in a bag until the police took it out.
Tomashev admitted guilt. He said that he saw the flag and decided to take it for himself. He was found guilty and sentenced to three months in prison.
3 months of arrest
On April 11, 2024, the case was heard in closed session by Judge Sergei Solovsky. Veronika was sentenced to imprisonment.
08/15/2024 released , having fully served the sentence imposed by the court.
Trial outcome 11.04.2024: 1 year of imprisonment in colony under general regime conditions.
Appeal 21.06.2024: the sentence was upheld.
- Associations
- Foreign citizens
Citizen of Ukraine from Chernigov. Sometimes she went to Belarus, and as a result she was detained. Natalya has two sons; the youngest was 2.5 months old at the time of his arrest. The trial took place behind closed doors. On March 12, 2024, the appeal was considered and the verdict entered into force.
On the evening of June 28, 2024, sudden information appeared about the release of five political prisoners from Belarusian colonies. The Ukrainian authorities achieved the release of their exchange citizens as prisoners. This is how Natalya Zakharenko, Pavel Kuprienko, Lyudmila Goncharenko, Ekaterina Bryukhanova, as well as Nikolai Shvets, a defendant in the “Machulishchi case,” were released. The terms of the exchange were not disclosed. It is noted that the Vatican took part in the liberation. The released political prisoners were brought to Ukraine on June 28 - their photo from the Zhulyany airport appeared in the media.
Trial outcome 19.12.2023: unknown years of imprisonment in colony under general regime conditions.
Diana is a 34-year-old Brest resident. Works at EPAM and leads the testing team there. After the start of the war, she and her son, who is now 7 years old, went to Tbilisi. But at some point I decided to return to Belarus, although I traveled abroad from time to time.
On her Instagram there is a photo from Warsaw, which dates back to June 29, 2023, three days later a photo from Mir Castle was published. And then the girl disappeared from everywhere.
On May 3, 2024, the appeal was considered and the verdict came into force.
- Associations
- Parents of minors
Sergei and his wife were detained in November 2023. Before the trial, Sergei was in custody, and Tatyana was under recognizance, since the family had two minor children.
According to the prosecution , in August 2020, Sergei and Tatyana took part in an unauthorized mass event, together with the protesters they marched through public places in the city, the central square, and Zhilibert Park. At the same time, they showed a pre-made poster measuring approximately 2.5 x 3 meters, on which a text containing slanderous information against the president was written in black and red colors, thereby deliberately spreading slanderous information against him in connection with his execution powers of the head of state.
The accused Sergei Chizh fully admitted his guilt at the court hearing. He explained that the poster was heavy, and it was soon rolled up, and after the procession, Sergei burned it.
Tatyana Chizh did not admit guilt to the charges, explaining that she was depressed due to the serious illness of her mother, who is disabled.
They were identified from photographs from the Internet.
Trial outcome 26.02.2024: 3 years restrictions of freedom with referral to an open-type correctional facility.