Rock Musician Sentenced To Two Years Of Imprisonment For Comments On Zeltser Case

The trial was held behind closed doors.

On October 7, the Vitsebsk Regional Court sentenced political prisoner rock musician Siarhei Dolivelya to two years of imprisonment for comments on the “Zeltzer case” on the internet. He was tried under the “inciting hatred” article, writes the Viasna human rights center.

Siarhei Dolivelya is the leader of the Minsk rock band Banderol, the author of lyrics and music, and a solo artist. He was detained in 2021 in a criminal case initiated after the death of KGB officer Dzmitry Fedasyuk and IT specialist Andrei Zeltser in Minsk.

Initially, he was charged under two articles, but subsequently charges under Article 369 of the Criminal Code (insulting a representative of the authorities) were dropped. The prosecutor requested a sentence of 2 years and 6 months in prison, but judge Halina Bondal took into account the sick child dependent on the musician.

Dolivelya was found guilty under Article. 130 of the Criminal Code (“Inciting racial, national, religious or other social hatred or discord”) and sentenced to two years of imprisonment in a penal colony. The trial took place behind closed doors.

On September 28, 2021 in Minsk, two people were killed during a shootout in an apartment on Yakubouski Street: 31-year-old KGB officer Dzmitry Fedasyuk and IT specialist Andrei Zeltser of the same age.