Pavel Shpetny
anarchist, sentenced to 6 years of imprisonment
Prisoner
Date of birth: 25 April 1997
Date of detention: 2 March 2021
Charges indicted:
- Art. 342 of the Criminal Code — Organization and preparation of actions that grossly violate public order, or active participation in them
- Part 2 of Art. 339 of the Criminal Code — Hooliganism committed by a group of persons
- Part 2 of Art. 285 of the Criminal Code — Participation in a criminal organization in any other form
Sentence: 6 years
Penalty: imprisonment in a medium-security penal colony
Prison sentence start date: 15 March 2023
Judge: Siarhei Khrypach
Prosecutor: Raman Biziuk
Prison: Penal colony No. 2
Cases: "Revolutionary Action"
Groups: Activists
Pavel Shpetny is a resident of Brest. He was detained on March 2, 2021, as part of a criminal case targeting activists of the anarchist movement from the Brest region.
The man was charged under Art. 342 of the Criminal Code (organization or active participation in group actions that grossly violate public order) and Part 2 of Art. 285 of the Criminal Code (creation of a criminal organization or participation in it).
On April 25, 2022, the trial commenced in Minsk Municipal Court. Prosecutor Andrei Buhuk requested a hearing in a closed session, because “there are materials of extremist nature in the materials of the criminal case”. The judge granted his petition and decided to close the hearing. All attendees were ordered out of the courtroom.
Four and a half months later, on September 6, 2022, Shpetny was sentenced—he received six years in a medium-security penal colony and a fine of 22,400 Belarusian rubles (more than $8,800).
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