Andrei Karalenia
served full term, released
Former prisoner
Date of birth: 27 August 1993
Date of detention: 9 October 2020
Charges indicted:
- Art. 363 of the Criminal Code — Resistance to a police officer or other person guarding public order
Sentence: 2 years
Penalty: imprisonment in a general-security penal colony
Date of release: 27 August 2022
Groups: IT specialists
Cases: Protests in Minsk
Andrei Karalenia graduated from the military department of BSUIR, served in the army. After that, he was engaged in information security systems, worked in a bank, then in a private company. He was sentenced to 2 years in prison for resisting the police during detention.
On August 7, 2020, Andrei was riding a bicycle, just behind a column of cyclists participating in a cycling protest. According to the investigation, he violated traffic rules, since his bike did not have a rear-view mirror and a sound signal. A traffic policeman demanded that the cyclist stopped, but he did not react and tried to escape. After the police officer caught up with Andrei, he resisted, again trying to escape and fighting back.
Karalenia has been in custody since October 9. On October 16, 2020, the court of the Centraĺny district of Minsk found Andrei guilty of resisting the police officer involving the use of violence (Part 2 of Article 363 of the Criminal Code). He was sentenced to two years in a general-security penal colony.
The political prisoner served his term in full and was released on August 27, 2022.
