Andrei Voinich
activist of the European Belarus opposition group, sentenced to 7 years in prison
Prisoner
Date of birth: 15 April 1981
Date of detention: 25 September 2020
Charges indicted:
- Part 3 of Art. 293 of the Criminal code — Training or other preparation of persons for participation in mass riots, or financing of this activity
- Part 1 of Article 13 and Article 293 of the Criminal Code — Preparation for mass riots
Sentence: 7 years
Penalty: imprisonment in a medium-security penal colony
Judge: Iryna Lanchava
Prison: Penal colony No. 15
Groups: Activists
Notes: Health issues
Cases: Protests in Minsk
Statement on the status of a political prisoner
Godparent: Robin Mesarosch, member of the German Bundestag for the SPD
Andrei Voinich is an activist of the European Belarus opposition group. He was detained together with Yahor Litvinka, Anastasiya Kiryk and Andrei Voinich on September 25, 2020, as part of a criminal case under Part 2 of Art. 293 of the Criminal Code ("rioting"). Masked security officers stormed the apartment rented by the activists and confiscated all IT equipment, flags and personal belongings.
On October 1, Voinich was charged. He was held in pre-trial prison No. 1 in Minsk.
Andrei Voinich, Pavel Yukhnevich and Yauhen Afnahel were among the founders and active members of the Zubr opposition movement. For their exclusively peaceful opposition activities, they were repeatedly repressed by the current authorities, including through fines, administrative arrests, beatings, intimidation and pressure.
On May 25, 2021, Judge Iryna Lanchava of the Mahilioŭ Regional Court sentenced Voinich to 7 years in a medium-security penal colony. The trial was held behind closed doors, since, as explained in court, “the case file belongs to a secret protected by law.”
