Yury Ziankovich
lawyer, sentenced to 11 years of imprisonment
Date of birth: 31 October 1977
Date of detention: 12 April 2021
Charges indicted:
Art. 361 of the Criminal Code — Calls for actions aimed at causing harm to the national security of the Republic of Belarus
Art. 369 of the Criminal Code — Insulting a government official
Art. 361-1 of the Criminal Code — Creation of an extremist formation, or participation in it
Art. 130 of the Criminal Code — Incitement to hatred
Sentence: 11 years
Penalty: imprisonment in a medium-security penal colony
Judge: Uladzimir Areshka
Prosecutor: Mikhail Kavaliou
Prison: Prison No. 4
Statement on the status of a political prisoner
Godparent: Anne Valentina Berthelsen, Member of Dutch Parliament
Yury Ziankovich, a lawyer, is a convict in the ‘conspiracy case’.
He was found guilty of:
- conspiracy to seize state power by unconstitutional means (part 1 of article 357 of the СС)
- creation and management of an extremist formation (part 1 of article 361-1 of the CC)
- public calls for seizure of state power (part 3 of article 361 of the CC)
- part 3 of article 130 (incitement of social hatred).
The trial commenced in the Minsk District Court. on July 29, 2022. On August 8, Ziankovich pleaded guilty on all counts. He also apologized to his accomplices.
On September 5, 2022, Judge Uladzimir Areshka convicted Ziankovich and sentenced him to 11 years in a medium-security penal colony.
