{"id":15848,"date":"2024-06-14T12:13:53","date_gmt":"2024-06-14T12:13:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/penbelarus.org\/?p=15848"},"modified":"2024-06-20T06:48:35","modified_gmt":"2024-06-20T06:48:35","slug":"zayava-ab-pryznanni-10-chalavek-palitychnymi-znyavolenymi-4","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/penbelarus.org\/en\/2024\/06\/14\/zayava-ab-pryznanni-10-chalavek-palitychnymi-znyavolenymi-4.html","title":{"rendered":"The statement on the recognition of 10 people as political prisoners"},"content":{"rendered":"

Joint statement by the Belarusian human rights community<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

June 14, 2024<\/em><\/p>\n

The Belarusian human rights community notes an increase in the number of convictions and imprisonments under several defamation and desecration of state symbols articles of the Criminal Code of the Republic of Belarus, and for other actions aimed at the lawful exercise of the freedom of expression.<\/p>\n

We demand to put an end to the persecution of legitimate expression of views and, reaffirming our repeated calls to decriminalize defamation and to refrain from imposing custodial sentences for insulting officials, the state, government agencies, and symbols (as\u00a0mentioned<\/a>\u00a0in the Joint statement of December 22, 2020),\u00a0note the following<\/strong>:<\/p>\n

At the moment we know about the following persons imprisoned for having insulted Aliaksandr Lukashenka, government officials (police officers), judges, desecrated state ans state symbols, and exercised their freedom of opinion in other forms:<\/p>\n

Tacciana Linnik<\/strong> under Articles 369, 368, 391 of the Criminal Code for insulting a representative of the authorities, A. Lukashenka and judges; she was sentenced to two years of imprisonment in a penal colony;<\/p>\n

Siarhiej Bielski<\/strong> under Article 368 of the Criminal Code for insulting A. Lukashenka; he was sentenced to two years and six months in a penal colony;<\/p>\n

Dzmitry Davyda\u016d<\/strong> under Article 367 of the Criminal Code for defamation of A. Lukashenka; he was sentenced to two years of imprisonment in a penal colony;<\/p>\n

Fiodar Matoryn<\/strong> under Article 367 of the Criminal Code for defamation of A. Lukashenka; he was sentenced to three years and six months of restriction of freedom in an open-type correctional institution and sent to serve his sentence;<\/p>\n

Vasil Kavalo\u016d<\/strong> under Articles 369, 369-1 of the Criminal Code for insulting a representative of the authorities, discrediting Belarus; he was sentenced to imprisonment in a penal colony;<\/p>\n

Dzmitry Danil\u010dyk<\/strong> under Articles 369, 368 of the Criminal Code for insulting a representative of the authorities, A. Lukashenka; he was sentenced to one year in a penal colony;<\/p>\n

Siarhiej Hnia\u016dko<\/strong> under Article 368 of the Criminal Code for insulting A. Lukashenka; he was sentenced to four years and six months in a penal colony;<\/p>\n

U\u0142adzimir Karotki<\/strong> under Article 370 of the Criminal Code for mocking state symbols; he was sentenced to two years of imprisonment in a penal colony;<\/p>\n

and also about the detention of:<\/p>\n

Andrej Burdzienia<\/strong> under Articles 368, 367, 369, 130 of the Criminal Code for comments addressed to A. Lukashenka, government representatives, Russian military;<\/p>\n

Mika\u0142aj Chi\u0142a<\/strong> under Article 368 of the Criminal Code for insulting A. Lukashenka.<\/p>\n

We consider the persecution and imprisonment of the named individuals to be politically motivated, related to the peaceful exercise of expressing thoughts, and consider them\u00a0political prisoners<\/strong>\u00a0in accordance with paragraph 3.1(a) of the\u00a0Guidelines on the Definition of Political Prisoners<\/a>. We demand from the Belarusian authorities:<\/p>\n