Siarhei Kanavalau
Belarusian Railways employee
Prisoner
Date of birth: 27 March 1972
Date of detention: 6 March 2022
Charges indicted:
- Art. 130 of the Criminal Code — Incitement to hatred
- Art. 289 of the Criminal Code — An act of terrorism
- Art. 411 — Malicious disobedience to the demands of administration of the correctional institution
Sentence: 15 years
Penalty: imprisonment in a medium-security penal colony
Judge: Yauhen Burunou
Prison: Penal colony No. 2
Cases: Rail sabotage
Statement on the status of a political prisoner
Godparent: Ronan Dantec, Member of the French Senate
Siarhei Kanavalau is an employee of the Viciebsk branch of Belarusian Railways. He was arrested on March 6 by the officers of the Main Directorate for Combating Organized Crime and Corruption (GUBOPiK) and riot police (OMON) for “preparing an act of terrorism”. According to the Ministry of Internal Affairs, the man planned to disable the systems that ensure the safety of railway traffic.
On 16 September 2022, the Viciebsk Regional Court pronounced a verdict and sentenced the prisoner to fifteen years of imprisonment and a fine of 9,600 Belarusian roubles ($3,800).
