U.S.-Belarusian citizen Yuras Zyankovich — who has been declared a political prisoner by human rights organizations –– has had his prison term extended by two years to more than 13 years in total in Belarus, the Vyasna human rights group said on October 7.
Zyankovich, 46, has been in prison for more than three years and has been tried three times on criminal charges, most recently in August on allegations of “malicious disobedience of the prison administration,” which added two years to his sentence upon conviction.
Vyasna said the extension to his sentence only became known at this time.
The rights group reported that Zyankovich had held numerous hunger strikes and that his health had deteriorated substantially while in custody amid harassment and intimidation by prison officials.
Zyankovich, a Belarusian-born lawyer who also holds U.S. citizenship, was reportedly snatched off a Moscow street in April 2021 and driven to detention in Belarus for trial, along with four other co-defendants.
He was sentenced to 11 years in prison in September 2022 on charges of planning to assassinate authoritarian ruler Alyaksandr Lukashenka and his family and seize power in the country, allegations he denied.
In January 2022, an additional six months were added to his sentence on a charge of insulting an official.
Zyankovich is serving his term in a prison in the eastern region of Mahilyou, notorious for its harsh treatment of political detainees.
Belarusian authorities have been conducting a brutal crackdown on dissent that has intensified since Lukashenka claimed a sixth presidential mandate following a flawed presidential election in 2020.
U.S.-Belarusian Lawyer’s Prison Term Extended Amid Concerns Over Health
