On March 3, the court of the Leninsky district of Minsk announced the sentence against the human rights defender “Vyasny”.
Judge Marina Zapasnyk awarded:
- Ales Bialiatskyiwinner of the Nobel Peace Prize and the founder of the organization, – 10 years in prison;
- Valentin Stefanovichdeputy of Bialiatski and vice-president of the International Federation for Human Rights, — 9 years of imprisonment;
- Vladimir Labkovichcoordinator of the “Human Rights Defenders for Free Elections” campaign and a lawyer, – 7 years of imprisonment;
- Dmitriy Solovyovwho is tried in absentia – 8 years of imprisonment.
They were found guilty of “money smuggling by an organized group” in 2016-2021 (Part 4, Article 228 of the Criminal Code) and “Protest financing” in 2020 (Part 2, Article 342 of the Criminal Code).
At the same time, the prosecutor Alexander the King requested 2 years longer prison terms for each of the political prisoners and larger fines than the judge imposed.
Recently in a letter on the loose Valentin Stefanovich reported that the prosecutor filed an appeal against the sentence announced to him and his colleagues.
The date of consideration of the protest is still unknown.
“I think they didn’t like our terms, they think they’re too soft,” quotes Valentin Stefanovich “Spring”.