Dzmitryi Miadzvetski
Prisoner
Date of birth: 29 March 1988
Date of detention: 2 September 2022
Charges indicted:
- Art. 342 of the Criminal Code — Organization and preparation of actions that grossly violate public order, or active participation in them
- Art. 368 of the Criminal Code — Insulting the President of the Republic of Belarus
- Art. 309 of the Criminal Code — Intentional disrepair of a vehicle or communication lines
Sentence: 3 years
Penalty: imprisonment in a general-security penal colony
Prison sentence start date: 11 May 2023
Judge: Natallia Loban
Prison: Penal colony No. 3
Cases: Protests in Lida, Rail sabotage
Dzmitryi Miadzvetski was accused of organizing and preparing actions grossly violating public order, damaging communication lines, and insulting Lukashenka.
Miadzvetski was detained on September 2, 2022. On September 6, 2022, a "repentant" video with him was published. In the video, he says that in 2020 he actively posted messages in the Lida 97% local protest chat room. Besides, he wrote about his actions in the Peramoha plan.
According to the law enforcement officers, Miadzvetski called for a strike, protests, and suggested organizing sabotage on the railway.
Miadzvetski was accused under three articles of the Criminal Code:
- Part 1 of Art. 309 of the Criminal Code of the Republic of Belarus ('Intentional damage to a vehicle or communication lines')
- Part 1 of Art. 342 of the Criminal Code ('Organization and preparation of actions that grossly violate public order, or active participation in them')
- Part 1 of Art. 368 of the Criminal Code (insulting Lukashenka)
The trial lasted one day. On November 14, 2022, the Lida District Court (Hrodna region) issued a verdict. The judge Natallia Loban found Miadzvetski guilty and sentenced him to three (3) years of imprisonment in a penal colony.
