Yauhen Hovar
BMZ employee, sentenced to 2 1/2 years in prison, sentence commuted to freedom restriction
Date of birth: 27 August 1978
Date of detention: 1 February 2021
Charges indicted:
Art. 342 of the Criminal Code — Organization and preparation of actions that grossly violate public order, or active participation in them
Sentence: 2 1/2 years
Penalty: restricted freedom in an open penal facility ("khimiya")
Date of release: 7 July 2023
Judge: Yauhen Yerafeyeu
Prosecutor: Andrei Anoshka
Statement on the status of a political prisoner
Godparent: Gabi Weber, member of the German Bundestag
Yauhen Hovar is an employee of the Belarusian Steel Works (BMZ) in Žlobin (Homieĺ region).
On August 17, 2020, in protest against the election fraud and violent crackdown on peaceful protesters, Yauhen Hovar and other BMZ employees blocked the road for the factory's support vehicles.
Hovar refused to testify but pleaded guilty. In his last words, he said, “I fully admit my guilt and sincerely repent. I do. Please do not punish me severely".
On February 1, 2021, the Žlobin District Court found him guilty of “breaching public order” (Part 1 of Article 342 of the Criminal Code) and sentenced him to two years and six months of imprisonment in a general-security penal colony.
On September 16, 2021, he was pardoned and his sentence was commuted to restricted freedom in an open-type penal facility.
In early July 2023, Yauhen Hovar was released from open-type penal facility #3 in Biaroza (Bret region), having fully served his sentence—more than 2 years and 5 months.
Workers sentenced to prison terms over political strike
