Mikalai Karol
sentenced to 4 years of imprisonment
Prisoner
Date of birth: 1 April 1969
Date of detention: 28 November 2022
Charges indicted:
- Art. 369 of the Criminal Code — Insulting a government official
- Art. 368 of the Criminal Code — Insulting the President of the Republic of Belarus
- Art. 391 of the Criminal Code — Insulting a judge
- Art. 367 of the Criminal Code — Slander against the President of the Republic of Belarus
- Art. 361-4 of the Criminal Code — Promoting extremist activities
Sentence: 4 years
Penalty: imprisonment in a general-security penal colony
Judge: Sviatlana Kramianiouskaya
Prison: Penal colony No. 17
Notes: War in Ukraine
At first Mikalai Karol was arrested for commenting on Lukashenka. He was charged under Article 368 of the Criminal Code ('Contempt of the president of Belarus') and detained in remand prison #7 in Brest.
As a result, he was charged under the following articles of the Criminal Code:
- Article 391 ('Contempt of a judge or a people's assessor')
- Part 2 of Article 367 ('Defamation against the president of Belarus')
- Article 369 ('Contempt of a public official')
- Part 1 of Article 368 ('Contempt of the president of Belarus')
- Part 1 of Article 361-4 ('Supporting extremist activity')
The case was heard on March 28, 2023, in the Brest Regional Court. The political prisoner was sentenced to 4 years of imprisonment in a general-security penal colony.
On May 23, 2023, the Supreme Court was to consider the appeal.