Aliaksandr Ahraitsovich
entrepreneur, election observer, sentenced to 2 years of restricted freedom, released under amnesty
Date of birth: 29 May 1984
Date of detention: 12 June 2021
Charges indicted:
art. 188 of the Criminal Code — Defamation
Sentence: 2 years
Penalty: restricted freedom in an open penal facility ("khimiya")
Date of release: 26 May 2023
Judge: Dzmitry Astapenka
Prosecutor: Veranika Zubik
Statement on the status of a political prisoner
Godparent: Valentin Abel, member of the Bundestag
Aliaksandr Ahraitsovich is an entrepreneur based in Minsk. He worked as an observer during the 2019 parliamentary elections and was eventually convicted under Article 188 of the Criminal Code ('Defamation').
Ahraitsovich was accused of slandering representatives of an election commission during the elections to the House of Representatives in 2019, namely 12 employees of school No. 187 in Minsk. In May 2020, he published on his YouTube channel a video alleging fraud by the election commission members, which "discredited their honor and dignity." The video had more than five thousand views.
The defendant pleaded not guilty: he was convinced that the election results had been falsified.
The Zavodski District Court of Minsk sentenced Aliaksandr Ahraitsovich to 24 months of restricted freedom in an open-type penal facility.
On May 26, 2023, the political prisoner reported that he had been released under amnesty from open-type penal colony No. 43 in Mahilioŭ.
