Yaraslau Sakovich
sentenced to 2 years of imprisonment
Date of birth: 9 June 1980
Date of detention: 5 August 2022
Charges indicted:
Art. 370 of the Criminal Code — Desecration of state symbols
Art. 295 of the Criminal Code — Unlawful acts against firearms, ammunition and explosives
Art. 356 of the Criminal Code — High treason
Sentence: 11 years
Penalty: imprisonment in a general-security penal colony
Judge: Siarhei Katser, Anastasiya Papko
Prison: Penal colony No. 11
Yaraslau Sakovich used to live in Ukraine but returned to Belarus in 2021 to take care of his sick parents. He is married to a Ukrainian.
He was arrested by the KGB. They tried to force out of him a confession that he had previously fought in Ukraine, called his wife and promised to send her his head. After that, Yaraslau Sakovich was released. A year later, he was arrested again.
From April 19 to May 4, 2023, Sakovich was tried by the Maskoŭski District Court of Minsk. On May 4, he was sentenced to 24 months of imprisonment in a general-security penal colony under two articles of the Criminal Code: Article 295 ('Illegal actions with firearms, ammunition, and explosives') and Article 370 ('Desecration of the state symbols').
It is known that two more criminal cases have been opened against Yaraslau Sakovich. He is still remanded in custody.
On August 4, 2023, Yaraslau was included in the "list of Belarusian citizens, foreign citizens or stateless persons involved in extremist activities" by the Ministry of Internal Affairs.
Currently, Sakovich is on trial under Article 356 of the Criminal Code for high treason.
