Illia Turkou
real estate agent, sentenced to 4 years in prison
Former prisoner
Date of birth: 24 May 1982
Date of detention: 27 July 2020
Charges indicted:
- Art. 342 of the Criminal Code — Organization and preparation of actions that grossly violate public order, or active participation in them
- Art. 364 of the Criminal Code — Violence or threat of violence against an employee of the internal affairs bodies
Sentence: 4 years
Penalty: imprisonment in a general-security penal colony
Date of release: 28 March 2024
Judge: Tatsiana Linnik
Prosecutor: Ina Zubko
Cases: Protests in Minsk
Statement on the status of a political prisoner
Godparent: Andreas Mehltretter, German Bundestag (Social Democratic Party)
Illia Turkou is a resident of Minsk, a real estate agent.
He was detained on July 27 at home and has been in custody ever since. He was charged with active participation on July 14 in group actions that grossly violated public order (Art. 342 of the Criminal Code) and violence against a police officer (Art. 364 of the Criminal Code).
In Particular, Turkou was accused of pushing a police officers twice.
The trial began on December 17. Illia Turkou pleaded not guilty under under Art. 342.
On December 30, 2020, Judge Tatsiana Linnik of the Pieršamajski District Court of Minsk found the man guilty and sentenced him to 4 years in a general-security penal colony. He is also expected to pay 500 rubles as compensation for moral damage in favor of the injured riot policeman.
