Maksim Znak
member of the Presidium of the Coordination Council, lawyer, sentenced to 10 years in prison
Date of birth: 4 September 1981
Date of detention: 9 September 2020
Charges indicted:
Art. 361 of the Criminal Code - Calls for actions aimed at causing harm to the national security of the Republic of Belarus
Part 1 of Art. 357 of the Criminal Code - Conspiracy to seize power in an unconstitutional way
Art. 361-1 of the Criminal Code - Creation of an extremist formation
Sentence: 10 years
Penalty: imprisonment in a medium-security penal colony
Prison: Pre-trial detention center No. 1
Maksim Znak is a lawyer and a member of the presidium of the Coordination Council.
He was detained on September 9, 2020. Znak's apartment was searched and he was taken to the Investigative Committee for questioning .
The Investigative Committee said that Maksim Znak was suspected of a criminal offense under Part 3 of Art. 361 of the Criminal Code (appeals to actions aimed at harming the national security of the Republic of Belarus).
On September 18, he faced formal charges under Part 3 of Art. 361 of the Criminal Code. The lawyer declared a hunger strike to protest the charges.
On February 10, 2021, Znak faced additional charges of "conspiracy to seize power with unconstitutional means" (Part 1 of Article 357) and "creating and managing an extremist formation" (Part 1 of Article 361-1).
On September 6, 2021, the Minsk Regional Court has sentenced Maksim Znak to 10 years in a medium-security penal colony.