Siarhei Shametska
former employee of Atlant, sentenced to 12 years of imprisonment
Prisoner
Date of birth: 23 October 1982
Date of detention: 21 September 2021
Charges indicted:
- Art. 361-1 of the Criminal Code — Creation of an extremist formation, or participation in it
- Art. 356 of the Criminal Code — High treason
Sentence: 12 years
Penalty: imprisonment in a medium-security penal colony
Judge: Aliaksandr Piskunou
Prison: Penal colony No. 22
Cases: The Rabochy Rukh case
Statement on the status of a political prisoner
Godparent: Luiza Licina-Bode is an SPD member of the Bundestag
Siarhei Shametska is a former employee of the Atlant, a major Belarusian producer of household appliances.
He was arrested as a defendant in a criminal investigation into 'high treason' (Article 356 of the Criminal Code) involving several employees of the Belarusian factories who supported local strikes in 2020 and were members of the Rabochy Rukh labor rights group. On September 21, 2021, that initiative was labeled as an "extremist" one, which entailed arrests of workers across the country. Besides, Siarhei Shametska was charged with Part 3 of Article 361-1 of the Criminal Code ('Creation of an extremist formation and participation in it').
On November 9, 2022, the Homieĺ Regional Court began the trial of the Rabochy Rukh case involving ten political prisoners. On the second day of the trial, all the defendants refused to admit their guilt in high treason and the creation of an extremist formation. All the defendants refused to testify at the trial. From December 27, the trial was held behind closed doors until the verdict was passed, although, before that, it had been held in open mode.
On February 17, 2023, the court delivered the verdict. Judge Aliaksandr Piskunou found Siarhei Shametska guilty under the above articles and sentenced him to 12 years of imprisonment in a medium-security penal colony.
Rabochy rukh group members receive 11 to 15 year in jail for high treason and creating extremist group
