Ihar Povarau
employee of BMZ, sentenced to 3 years in prison
Former prisoner
Date of birth: 23 May 1990
Date of detention: 23 November 2020
Charges indicted:
- Art. 342 of the Criminal Code — Organization and preparation of actions that grossly violate public order, or active participation in them
Sentence: 3 years
Penalty: imprisonment in a general-security penal colony
Date of release: 10 September 2023
Judge: Yauhen Yerafeyeu
Prosecutor: Andrei Anoshka
Groups: Employees
Notes: Prison security level
Cases: Protests in Žlobin
Statement on the status of a political prisoner
Godparent: James Lawless, member of the Irish Parliament
Ihar Povarau is an employee of the BMZ steel works in Žlobin. He was detained on November 23 for organizing a strike at the enterprise on August 17. Ihar and several other employees were charged under Part 1 of Article 342 of the Criminal Code (group actions that grossly violate public order).
The workers were accused of blocking the movement of support vehicles in an act of protest against election fraud and violent crackdown on peaceful protesters. According to the employer, the strike caused financial damage to the enterprise, which it estimated at 1,080 rubles (340 euros).
On February 1, 2021, the Žlobin District Court sentenced Ihar Povarau to three years in a general-security penal colony.
Povarau pleaded not guilty.
In mid-December 2021 it was reported that Ihar had been transferred to prison regime for one year. The political prisoner was transferred to Hrodna Prison No. 1.
In the beginning of January 2023 Ihar was sent back to the penal colony No. 1.
He was released in the autumn of 2023 after serving his sentence.
Žlobin political prisoner Ihar Povarau is tortured with cold
