Ihnat Sidorchyk
film director, actor, poet, sentenced to 3 years of restricted freedom
Date of birth: 25 August 1989
Date of detention: 10 August 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: restricted freedom in an open penal facility ("khimiya")
Prison sentence start date: 14 June 2021
Date of release: 3 July 2023
Judge: Yuryi Mashketau
Prosecutor: Dzmitryi Padlipski
Ihnat Sidorchyk is a film director, actor and poet.
He was held in the Žodzina pre-trial detention center, later he was transferred to pre-trial detention center No. 1 in Minsk.
Sidorchyk was initially charged under Part 1 of Art. 293 of the Criminal Code, "organization of riots."
On February 16, 2021, Judge Yury Mashketau of the Maskoŭski District Court of Minsk sentenced Ihnat Sidorchyk to three years of restricted freedom in an open penitentiary (so-called "khimiya"), finding him guilty under Part 1 of Art. 342 of the Criminal Code.
The charge stemmed from a Telegram chat Sidorchyk authored to call on his friends to meet on August 9, the day of election, in central Minsk. He also told them how to use proxy servers and applications in case of Internet blocking. He was also accused of blocking traffic on election night.
The convict was released in the courtroom to await an appeal hearing.
On June 14, 2021, Sidorchyk was re-arrested and sent to serve his sentence at open penitentiary No. 49.
