Illia Mironau
sentenced to 1 1/2 years of imprisonment
Date of birth: 24 March 1982
Date of detention: 30 September 2021
Charges indicted:
Art. 369-1 of the Criminal Code — Discrediting Belarus
Sentence: 1 1/2 years
Penalty: imprisonment in a general-security penal colony
Date of release: 24 October 2022
Judge: Aliaksandr Mokharau
Illia Mironau is a volunteer from Homieĺ. His Write Letters initiative was nominated for the National Human Rights Award 2021.
Mironau was detained for posting comments on the Internet in connection with the deaths of IT worker Andrei Zeltser and KGB agent Dzmitry Fedasiuk in the notorious Zeltser case. He was initially charged with ‘inciting hatred’ under Article 130 of the Criminal Code but the investigation later changed it to ‘discrediting the Republic of Belarus’ (Article 369-1 of the Criminal Code).
On October 24, 2022, the trial of the political prisoner was held in the court of Savietski District of Homieĺ. Judge Aliaksandr Mokharau found Mironau guilty and sentenced him to 18 months of imprisonment and a fine of 6,400 Belarusian rubles ($2,530). He was released in the courtroom, as the 12 months he spent in pre-trial custody were credited as 18 months in jail.
