Nakanishi Masatoshi
Political prisoner
Date of detention: 9 July 2024
Charges indicted:
- Article 358-1 of the Criminal Code — Agent activity
Sentence: 7 years
Penalty: imprisonment in a medium-security penal colony
Judge: Anzhela Kastsiukevich
Prison: Pre-trial detention center of KGB
Notes: Foreign citizens
Nakanishi Masatoshi is a citizen of Japan. On September 4, 2024, it became known that he was detained in Belarus. He was detained back in July 2024, but the details of his persecution were revealed only now on Belarusian television. Nakanishi is being held in the KGB prison on charges of “agent activity” (Article 358-1 of the Criminal Code). The Japanese citizen faces up to seven years in prison in Belarus.
Immediately after the story was broadcast on Belarusian television, Tokyo protested to the Belarusian Foreign Ministry. Yoshimasa Hayashi, Secretary General of the Japanese Cabinet of Ministers, stated that the content of the program violated human rights.
The trial began on January 10, 2025 in the Minsk City Court. Judge Anzhela Kastsiukevich was appointed to preside over the trial.
The Embassy of Japan appealed to the Belarusian authorities to allow its staff to observe the trial, but the request was denied.
