Artsiom Latyshau
sentenced to 4 1/2 years of imprisonment
Date of birth: 4 August 1992
Date of detention: 8 September 2021
Charges indicted:
Part 2 of Art. 339 of the Criminal Code — Hooliganism committed by a group of persons
Art. 341 of the Criminal Code — Desecration of structures and damage to property
Sentence: 4 1/2 years
Penalty: imprisonment in a high security prison
Judge: Mikhail Zubenia
Prison: Prison No. 4
Artsiom Latyshau worked at the Vitba confectionary in Viciebsk. He was arrested on September 8, 2021, for a performance at the cemetery with an image of Lukashenka and for splashing red paint on two banners depicting traffic police officers.
He was charged under Article 341 ('Desecration of buildings and damage to property') and Part 2 of Article 339 ('Hooliganism committed by a group of persons') of the Criminal Code and remanded in custody pending trial.
On April 25, 2022, the trial started in the Viciebsk District Court. On May 20, Judge Mikhail Zubenia found Artsiom Latyshau guilty and sentenced him to 4 years and 6 months of imprisonment in a general-security penal colony.
In mid-September 2022, the political prisoner was transferred from remand prison #2 in Viciebsk to penal colony #2 in Babrujsk, Mahilioŭ region.
In the penal colony, Latyshau constantly faced ill-treatment by the employees. Thus, on June 1, 2023, he was placed in a punitive confinement cell for the fourth time in a row. Before that, he stayed there for 30 days.
On July 26, 2023, a trial was held to change the punishment level for the political prisoner. The court ruled to transfer Latyshau to the prison regime.
Artsiom Latyshau was transferred to Prison #4 in Mahilioŭ. Before the transfer, he was held in a punishment cell.
