Yauheniya Staravoitava

sentenced to 2 1/2 years of restricted freedom

Former prisoner

Date of birth: 29 May 1996

Date of detention: 4 November 2022

Charges indicted:

  • Art. 342 of the Criminal Code — Organization and preparation of actions that grossly violate public order, or active participation in them
  • Art. 369 of the Criminal Code — Insulting a government official
  • Art. 368 of the Criminal Code — Insulting the President of the Republic of Belarus

Sentence: 2 1/2 years

Penalty: restricted freedom under home confinement ("domashnyaya khimiya")

Judge: Yuliya Shut

Cases: Protests in Minsk

Yauheniya Staravoitava was detained on November 4, 2022, and sentenced to 13 days of administrative imprisonment. After the administrative imprisonment, Staravoitava was not released. Instead, charges were brought against her under Part 1 of Art. 368 ('Insulting the president of Belarus'), Part 1 of Art. 342 ('Organization and preparation of actions grossly breaching public order, or active participation in them'), and Art. 369 ('Contempt of goverment official') of the Criminal Code.

Staravoitava was transferred to remand prison #1.

Her case was tried in the Lieninski District Court of Minsk. On February 15, 2023, Judge Yuliya Shut found Staravoitava guilty and sentenced her to two years and six months of restricted freedom under home confinement. She was released from custody in the courtroom.

On March 10, 2023, Yauheniya Staravoitava was included in the 'List of citizens of Belarus, foreign citizens, and stateless persons involved in extremist activities'.

Addresses of prisons:

What should I know and how to help?

✉️ Write a letter. Make a scan of your letter or postcard and share it online

🤝 Please use the Russian (or Belarusian) name of the prison

💡 Foreign-language messages may be blocked, so attach a translation (e.g. translate.google.com)

💡 A big guide about helping Belarusian political prisoners from abroad

💡 More tips here

Support “Viasna”