Natallia Piatrovich
sentenced to 6 years of imprisonment
Date of birth: 27 February 1955
Date of detention: 19 December 2022
Charges indicted:
Art. 361 of the Criminal Code — Calls for actions aimed at causing harm to the national security of the Republic of Belarus
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: 6 years
Penalty: imprisonment in a general-security penal colony
Judge: Vera Halaukova
Prison: Penal colony No. 4
Statement on the status of a political prisoner
Natallia Piatrovich was arrested on December 19, 2022, at home, for a comment posted on the Internet. She was accused under Part 1 of Article 368 of the Criminal Code ('Contempt of the president of Belarus').
In early June 2023, it became known that the political prisoner was transferred from the remand prison in Žodzina (Minsk region) to remand prison #1 in Minsk.
Later it became known that the police prisoner was charged under five articles of the Criminal Code:
- Part 1 of Article 130—Inciting racial, national, religious or other social enmity or enmity
- Part 3 of Article 361-1—Creation of an extremist formation or participation in it
- Part 1 of Article 368—Contempt of the president of Belarus
- Part 3 of Article 361—Calls for restrictive measures (sanctions) and other actions aiming to harm the national security of Belarus
- Article 369—Contempt of a government official
On August 11, 2023, in the Minsk City Court, Judge Vera Halaukova sentenced Natallia Piatrovich to six years of imprisonment in a general-security penal colony.
