Andrei Pukanau
sentenced to 2 years imprisonment
Date of birth: 16 July 1976
Date of detention: 18 January 2023
Charges indicted:
Art. 367 of the Criminal Code — Slander against the President of the Republic of Belarus
Sentence: 2 years
Penalty: imprisonment in a general-security penal colony
Judge: Zhanna Bal
Prison: Penal colony No. 2
Andrei Pukanau is a German language teacher and a bachelor of theology. He is an Orthodox believer. In Homieĺ, he is also known as a local historian and a member of the Belarusian Geographical Society. In the 1990s, Andrei Pukanau was a member of the Talaka local history organization and developed courses on geography for the Homieĺ branch of the Yakub Kolas Belarusian Humanities Lyceum. Later, he engaged in social activities and tried to run for the House of Representatives.
Andrei Pukanau is accused of slandering Lukashenka under Part 2 of Article 367 of the Criminal Code (Defamation against the President of Belarus).
On January 18, 2023, he was arrested at work, and his home was searched. Before the trial, he was placed in remand prison #3 in Homieĺ.
On April 18, 2023, the Homieĺ District Court found Andrei Pukanau guilty and sentenced him to 24 months of imprisonment in a general-security penal colony. Judge Zhanna Bal heard the case.
