Patrytsyia Svitsina
in custody pending trial
Date of birth: 7 February 2001
Date of detention: 16 May 2023
Charges indicted:
Art. 342 of the Criminal Code — Organization and preparation of actions that grossly violate public order, or active participation in them
Sentence: 2 1/2 years
Penalty: restricted freedom under home confinement ("domashnyaya khimiya")
Judge: Viktoryia Shabunia
Patrytsyia Svitsina is a folk singer. She was a laureate of Lukashenka's scholarship for talented youth but refused it in 2020.
She was arrested in mid-May 2023. In the "repentance video", she said that in 2020, she "participated in the protests", "took to the roads" and "blocked the traffic" during the protest marches. She also said that she had published "negative messages" on social networks about law enforcers and "the special operation on the territory of Ukraine" and "incited enmity and hatred between the Slavic peoples".
Criminal proceedings opened against Patrytsyia Svitsina under Article 342 of the Criminal Code ('Active participation in group actions grossly disrupting public order').
She is in a pre-trial detention center.
