Stsiapan Yakuts
sentenced to 1 1/2 years of imprisonment
Former prisoner
Date of birth: 21 November 1975
Date of detention: 18 October 2022
Charges indicted:
- Art. 342 of the Criminal Code — Organization and preparation of actions that grossly violate public order, or active participation in them
- 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. 367 of the Criminal Code — Slander against the President of the Republic of Belarus
Sentence: 1 1/2 years
Penalty: imprisonment in a general-security penal colony
Date of release: 24 January 2024
Judge: Uladzimir Fedarovich
The Court of Lida District (Hrodna region) convicted Stsiapan Yakuts under four articles of the Criminal Code of Belarus:
- Part 1 of Article 342 ('Organization and preparation of actions grossly disrupting public order, or active participation in them')
- Part 1 of Article 368 ('Public insult of the President of Belarus')
- Article 369 ('Discrediting the Republic of Belarus')
- Part 1 of Article 367 ('Public slander against the President of Belarus')
Judge Uladzimir Fedarovich considered the case on February 9, 10, 15 and 16, 2023.
In the "penitential video" published by law enforcers, Stsiapan Yakuts said that he had been arrested for spreading extremist materials and insulting police officers on the Internet.
He is serving his sentence in penal colony #2 in Babrujsk, Mahilioŭ region.
On May 12, 2023, Stsiapan Yakuts was included in the 'List of Belarusian citizens, foreign citizens, and stateless persons involved in extremist activities'.
