Mikita Paleonak
sentenced to 4 years of imprisonment
Date of birth: 15 November 1993
Date of detention: 16 January 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. 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: 4 years
Penalty: imprisonment in a general-security penal colony
Judge: Yauhen Burunou
Prison: Penal colony No. 22
Statement on the status of a political prisoner
Mikita Paleonak was detained on January 16, 2022, in a criminal case of insulting the president (Article 368 of the Criminal Code) and government officials (Article 369 of the Criminal Code).
He was held in a pre-trial detention center.
Later it became known that he was also charged with ‘incitement of hatred’ and ‘creation of an extremist formation’ under Articles 130 and 361-1 of the Criminal Code.
The trial began on August 8, 2022, in the Viciebsk Regional Court. On August 15, Judge Yauhen Burunou found Mikita guilty and sentenced him to four years of imprisonment in a general-security penal colony.
