Aliaksei Sanchuk

sentenced to 6 years in prison

Prisoner

Date of birth: 18 July 1990

Date of detention: 4 November 2020

Charges indicted:

  • Part 2 of Art. 293 of the Criminal Code — Participation in riots
  • Art. 342 of the Criminal Code — Organization and preparation of actions that grossly violate public order, or active participation in them

Sentence: 6 years

Penalty: imprisonment in a medium-security penal colony

Judge: Tatsiana Pirozhnikava

Prosecutor: Yauhen Serakou

Prison: Penal colony No. 17

Groups: Cultural workers

Cases: Protests in Minsk

Aliaksei Sanchuk was detained on November 4, 2020, in Minsk together with at least 10 other musicians who played drums during post-election protests as part of a marching percussion band. When detained, Aliaksei was beaten and forced to unlock the screen of his smartphone. After that, the guy was sentenced to 15 days for allegedly participating in an unauthorized rally, but was never released.

On October 26, he was charged under Part 1 of Article 342 of the Criminal Code (organization and preparation of actions that grossly violate public order, or active participation in them).

On May 13, 2021, Judge Tatsiana Pirozhnikava of the Maskoŭski District Court of Minsk sentenced Sanchuk to six years in a medium-security penal colony, finding him guilty under Part 1 and 2 of Art. 342 (organization or preparation of actions, and active participation in actions that grossly violate public order), Part 3 of Art. 293 (training or other preparation of persons for participation in mass riots) and Art. 13 Part. 2 of Art. 293 (preparation for participation in riots).

Mail address: Penal colony No. 17. 213004, Škloŭ, vulica 1-ja Zavodskaja 8

Addresses of prisons:

What should I know and how to help?

✉️ Write a letter. Make a scan of your letter or postcard and share it online

🤝 Please use the Russian (or Belarusian) name of the prison

💡 Foreign-language messages may be blocked, so attach a translation (e.g. translate.google.com)

💡 A big guide about helping Belarusian political prisoners from abroad

💡 More tips here

Support “Viasna”