Larysa Shchyrakova
Date of birth: 13 April 1973
Date of detention: 6 December 2022
Charges indicted:
Art. 361-4 of the Criminal Code — Promoting extremist activities
Art. 369-1 of the Criminal Code — Discrediting Belarus
Sentence: 3 1/2 years
Penalty: imprisonment in a general-security penal colony
Judge: Mikalai Dolia
Prison: Penal colony No. 4
Larysa Shchyrakova, a former journalist, was detained in the evening of December 6, 2022, after a search of her home. Her son was taken to a shelter on the same day.
Later it became known that a criminal case was opened against Shchyrakova under Art. 369-1 of the Criminal Code ('Discrediting the Republic of Belarus'). She was transferred to the Gomel pre-trial detention center.
On August 31, 2023, Larysa was sentenced to three years and six months of imprisonment in a general-security penal colony.
On September 22, 2023, the Ministry of Internal Affairs added Larysa to the "list of extremists".
