Natallia Nikitsina

child therapist, served full term, released

Date of birth: 1 July 1970

Date of detention: 29 September 2021

Charges indicted:

Art. 369 of the Criminal Code — Insulting a government official
Art. 130 of the Criminal Code — Incitement to hatred

Sentence: 22 months

Penalty: imprisonment in a general-security penal colony

Date of release: 5 January 2023

Judge: Valiantsina Ziankevich

Godparent: Mélanie Vogel, member of the French Senate

Natallia Nikitsina is a seasoned psychiatrist and therapist with nearly 30 years of experience. She was detained in Minsk for publishing comments on the Internet in connection with the deaths of IT worker Andrei Zeltser and KGB agent Dzmitry Fedasiuk.

On September 1, 2022, the Minsk Municipal Court found Nikitsina guilty of ‘insulting a government official’ and ‘inciting hatred’ under Articles 369 and 130 of the Criminal Code. Judge Valiantsina Ziankevich sentenced Nikitsina to 22 months of imprisonment and a fine of 6,400 Belarusian rubles (2,500 US dollars). 

On January 5, Nikitsina was released from women's colony No. 4 having fully served her term.

Seasoned child therapist sentenced to 21 months behind bars for social media comments

On September 1, 2022, the Minsk Municipal Court convicted political prisoner Natallia Nikitsina, a seasoned physician with nearly 30 years of experience. She was found guilty of ‘insulting a government official’ and ‘inciting hatred’ under Articles 369 and 130 of the Criminal Code. The grounds for the criminal case were her comments on social networks.

 

Addresses of prisons:

What should I know and how to help?

✉️ Write a letter. Make a scan of your letter or postcard and share it online

🤝 Please use the Russian (or Belarusian) name of the prison

💡 Foreign-language messages may be blocked, so attach a translation (e.g. translate.google.com)

💡 More tips here

Support “Viasna”