Pavel Yukhnevich
activist of the European Belarus opposition group, sentenced to 5 years
Date of birth: 30 June 1984
Date of detention: 25 September 2020
Charges indicted:
Part 1 of Article 13 and Article 293 of the Criminal Code — Preparation for mass riots
Sentence: 5 years
Penalty: imprisonment in a medium-security penal colony
Judge: Iryna Lanchava
Prison: Penal colony No. 22
Pavel Yukhnevich is an activist of the European Belarus opposition group. He was detained together with Yahor Litvinka, Anastasiya Kiryk and Andrei Voinich on September 25, 2020, as part of a criminal case under Part 2 of Art. 293 of the Criminal Code ("rioting"). Masked security officers stormed the apartment rented by the activists and confiscated all IT equipment, flags and personal belongings.
On October 1, Pavel Yukhnevich was charged. He was held in pre-trial prison No. 1 in Minsk.
Pavel Yukhnevich, Yauhen Afnahel and Andrei Voinich were among the founders and active members of the Zubr opposition movement. For their exclusively peaceful opposition activities, they were repeatedly repressed by the current authorities, including through fines, administrative arrests, beatings, intimidation and pressure.
On May 25, 2021, Judge Iryna Lanchava of the Mahilioŭ Regional Court sentenced Viniarski to 5 years in a medium-security penal colony. The trial was held behind closed doors, since, as explained in court, “the case file belongs to a secret protected by law.”
