Andrei Utkin
IT professional, sentenced to 2 years of imprisonment
Former prisoner
Date of birth: 12 December 1991
Date of detention: 31 March 2022
Charges indicted:
- Art. 361-4 of the Criminal Code — Promoting extremist activities
Sentence: 2 years
Penalty: imprisonment in a general-security penal colony
Date of release: 27 December 2023
Judge: Ruslan Tsaruk
Groups: IT specialists
Notes: War in Ukraine
Andrei Utkin is an IT specialist from Homieĺ. He was detained for taking a picture of a convoy of Russian military equipment and sending it to the Bielaruski hajun Telegram channel.
Andrei is incriminated under Article 361-1 of the Criminal Code (Participation in an extremist formation) and Article 361-4 of the Criminal Code (Promoting extremist activities).
Eventually, the political prisoner was charged only with ‘promoting extremist activities’. On August 1, 2022, the court found him guilty and sentenced him to 24 months of imprisonment in a general-security penal colony.
Taking pics of Russian troops considered extremism