Yauhen Rakevich
sentenced to 2 years of imprisonment
Former prisoner
Date of birth: 31 March 1990
Date of detention: 30 September 2021
Charges indicted:
- Art. 369 of the Criminal Code — Insulting a government official
- Art. 130 of the Criminal Code — Incitement to hatred
Sentence: 2 years
Penalty: imprisonment in a general-security penal colony
Date of release: 31 March 2023
Judge: Iryna Tsiaplova
Cases: The Zeltser case
Yauhen Rakevich was detained in Stoŭbcy for publishing comments on the Internet in connection with the deaths of IT worker Andrei Zeltser and KGB agent Dzmitry Fedasiuk.
On August 24, 2022, the Mahilioŭ Regional Court found Rakevich guilty of ‘insulting a government official’ (Article 369 of the Criminal Code) and ‘inciting hatred’ (Article 130 of the Criminal Code) and sentenced him to two years of imprisonment in a general-security penal colony and a fine of 3,200 Belarusian rubles ($1,300). During the trial the defendant pleaded guilty partially, explaining that he had written the comments, driven by strong emotions.
