Maksim Viniarski
activist of the European Belarus opposition group, sentenced to 5 years in prison
Date of birth: 28 July 1981
Date of detention: 22 January 2021
Charges indicted:
Part 1 of Article 13 and Article 293 of the Criminal Code — Preparation for mass riots
Sentence: 5 years
Penalty: imprisonment in a medium-security penal colony
Judge: Iryna Lanchava
Prison: Penal colony No. 3
Statement on the status of a political prisoner
Godparent: Tom van der Lee, Member of the Dutch Parliament
Maksim Viniarski is an activist of the European Belarus opposiiton group. He is a principled and long-standing opponent of the current political regime. For his exclusively peaceful political activity, Viniarski has been repeatedly repressed by the authorities, including through fines, short terms in prison, beatings and intimidation.
On January 22, 2020, he was detained by GUBAZIK officers. During the search of the detainee's apartment, they siezed computer equipment, smartphones, white-red-white symbols, stickers and spray paint.
He was later charged under Art. 13, Part 2 of Article 293 of the Criminal Code ("preparation for participation in mass riots").
On May 25, 2021, Judge Iryna Lanchava of the Mahilioŭ Regional Court sentenced Viniarski to 5 years in a medium-security penal colony. The trial was held behind closed doors, since, as explained in court, “the case file belongs to a secret protected by law.”
