Dzmitryi Bohush
businessman, in custody
Former prisoner
Date of birth: 1 October 1972
Date of detention: 11 December 2022
Charges indicted:
- Art. 130 of the Criminal Code — Incitement to hatred
- Art. 367 of the Criminal Code — Slander against the President of the Republic of Belarus
Sentence: 3 1/2 years
Penalty: imprisonment in a general-security penal colony
Prison sentence start date: 8 November 2023
Date of release: 4 September 2024
Judge: Liubou Simakhina
Groups: Businessmen
Notes: Pardon / amnesty
Statement on the status of a political prisoner
Dzmitryi Bohush worked in the banking sector for 18 years, including as the deputy chair of the Technobank board. Later he started a business—he built wind farms on two sites in the Hrodna region.
In December 2022, Bohush was arrested on the charge of 'inciting enmity'— he allegedly posted threatening comments against Lukashenka and law enforcers on social media.
According to Bohush, he spoke publicly on social networks after seeing the photos of beaten young people detained during the protest actions after the 2020 presidential elections.
The 50-year-old businessman said that he had later removed his posts, but refused to flee Belarus, although his acquaintances "clearly hinted" at that.