Hleb Viatoshkin
bartender, sentenced to 5 years of freedom restriction under home confinement
Date of birth: 3 May 1999
Date of detention: 27 November 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. 130 of the Criminal Code — Incitement to hatred
Sentence: 1 1/2 years
Penalty: imprisonment in a general-security penal colony
Judge: Aliaksandr Piskunou
Hleb Viatoshkin is a 24-year-old bartender at the Kvaternik pub and bar in Homieĺ. He started working as a bartender after graduating from the Faculty of Foreign Languages of the Franсysk Skaryna Homieĺ State University.
On May 4, 2023, the Homieĺ Regional Court began the trial of his criminal case. Hleb Viatoshkin is accused of 'inciting other social enmity or hatred' under Part 1 of Article 130 and 'organizing and preparing actions grossly disrupting public order or participating in them' under Part 1 of Article 342 of the Criminal Code.
Human rights defenders learned about the arrest of Hleb Viatoshkin on November 28, 2022, from pro-government Telegram channels. He was in remand prison #3 in Homieĺ.
He was reported to have allegedly distributed extremist materials, participated in the protests in August 2020, insulted government officials, and incited social enmity. After the arrest, a report was drawn up against Hleb Viatoshkin under Part 2 of Article 19.11 of the Code of Administrative Offences ('Dissemination of extremist materials').
On May 30, 2023, in the Homieĺ Regional Court, Judge Aliaksandr Piskunou announced the verdict: five years of freedom restriction under home confinement. Hleb Viatoshkin was released from custody in the courtroom.
