Five People Sentenced In Absentia To 12 Years In Prison In Minsk

The trial lasted more than a month behind closed doors.

On January 18, the Minsk Municipal Court announced the verdict in the first trial in absentia within the framework of “special proceedings” in the case of the Black Book of Belarus. Judge Natallia Buhuk sentenced Yanina Sazanovich, Dzmitry Navosha, Daniil Bahdanovich, Valeryja Zaniamonskaya, and Volha Vysotskaya in absentia to 12 years in prison each. That is the sentence the prosecutor requested, human rights activists report.

Five people were charged under Part 3 of Article 130 (“incitement of other social enmity and discord”) and Part 3 of Article 203-1 of the Criminal Code (“illegal actions in relation to personal data”) for administering the Black Book of Belarus Telegram channel. The KGB included the defendants in the “terrorist list”. The trial lasted a little over a month behind closed doors.