Aliaksandr Ahraitsovich
entrepreneur, election observer, sentenced to 2 years of restricted freedom
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")
Judge: Dzmitry Astapenka
Prosecutor: Veranika Zubik
Prison: Open correctional facility No. 43
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 elecitons, and was eventually convicted under Art. 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 members of the election commission, which "discredited their honor and dignity." The video has been viewed more than five thousand times.
The accused pleaded not guilty: he is convinced that the election results were falsified.
The Zavodski District Court sentenced Aliaksandr Ahraitsovich to two years of restricted freedom in a correctional facility ("khimiya").