Siarhei Kapanets

sentenced to 5 1/2 years

Date of birth: 24 October 1974

Date of detention: 11 August 2020

Charges indicted:

Part 1 of Art. 293 of the Criminal Code — Organization of riots
Art. 342 of the Criminal Code — Organization and preparation of actions that grossly violate public order, or active participation in them

Sentence: 5 1/2 years

Penalty: imprisonment in a high security prison

Judge: Viktoryia Shabunia

Prosecutor: Artsiom Tsviatkou, Ivan Protski

Prison: Prison No. 4

Godparent: Rudolf Henke, member of the German Bundestag, Olaf in der Beek, member of the German Bundestag

Siarhei Kapanets was detained as part of the "rioting case" opened following the events of August 9-11, 2020. Kapanets was later charged under Art. 293 of the Criminal Code.

On May 18, 2021, the Centraĺny District Court of Minsk sentenced Siarhei Kapanets to five and a half years in a medium-security penal colony. He was convicted under two articles of the Criminal Code: Part 6 of Art. 16 (Complicity in a crime), Part 1 of Art. 293 ('Assistance in organization of mass riots'), and Part 1 of Art. 342 ('Group actions gravely breaching public order'). The judge Viktoryia Shabunia sentenced Kapanets to the very punishment requested by the prosecutor Ivan Protski.

The political prisoner is serving his sentence in penal colony #1 in Navapolack. As of late January 2023, the colony administration has placed Kapanets in a punishment cell for a total of 150 days.

Mail address: Prison No. 4. 212011, Mahilioŭ, vulica Krupskaj 99A

Addresses of prisons:

What should I know and how to help?

✉️ Write a letter. Make a scan of your letter or postcard and share it online

🤝 Please use the Russian (or Belarusian) name of the prison

💡 Foreign-language messages may be blocked, so attach a translation (e.g. translate.google.com)

💡 More tips here

Support “Viasna”