Piotr Yurkevich
in custody
Date of birth: 2 February 1973
Date of detention: 13 August 2021
Charges indicted:
Art. 342 of the Criminal Code — Organization and preparation of actions that grossly violate public order, or active participation in them
Art. 361-1 of the Criminal Code — Creation of an extremist formation, or participation in it
Part 1 of Art. 14 and Part 2 of Art. 357 of the Criminal Code — Attempted conspiracy to seize state power by unconstitutional means
Sentence: 9 years
Penalty: imprisonment in a high security prison
Judge: Siarhei Khrypach
Piotr Yurkevich is accused of 'active participation in group actions grossly disrupting public order', 'attempted conspiracy to seize the state power', and 'joining an extremist organization' under Part 1 of Article 342, Part 1 of Article 14 and Part 2 of Article 357, and Part 3 of Article 361-1 of the Criminal Code.
He is a defendant in the case of the arson of the house of Aleh Haidukevich, a pro-government parliament member. On the night of July 11-12, 2021, Haidukevich's house in a village in the Minsk region was attacked with Molotov cocktails. On July 12, the KGB started a case under Part 1 of Article 289 of the Criminal Code ('Act of terrorism').
