The Minsk Municipal Court pronounced the verdict to lawyer Vital Brahinets. The political prisoner received eight years of imprisonment in a medium-security penal colony.
Brahinets was convicted of four criminal offenses:
- inciting social hatred (part 3 of Article 130 of the Criminal Code),
- calling for sanctions (part 3 of Article 361 of the Criminal Code),
- creating an extremist formation or participating in it (part 1 of Article 361-1 of the Criminal Code), and
- actively participating in actions that grossly violate public order (part 1 of Article 342 of the Criminal Code).
Judge Alena Ananich considered the case in a closed court for two weeks.
Brahinets defended some political prisoners, including Viasna chairman Ales Bialiatski. As a result of his arrest, another lawyer, Andrei Machalau, was left without legal counsel during an ongoing trial.
https://spring96.org/en/news/110623
https://charter97.org/en/news/2023/2/2/534684/
https://prisoners.spring96.org/en/person/vital-brahinec
https://spring96.org/en/news/110629
Belarus: Rights lawyer Vital Brahinets sentenced to 8 years imprisonment
