Uladzimir Hancharou
sentenced to 2 years of imprisonment
Former prisoner
Date of birth: 5 December 1990
Date of detention: 14 July 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. 369 of the Criminal Code — Insulting a government official
Sentence: 2 years
Penalty: imprisonment in a general-security penal colony
Date of release: 2 April 2023
Judge: Katsiaryna Ramashka, Aksana Ratnikava
Prosecutor: Aliaksei Baranouski, Vadzim Bahatka
Cases: The round dance case
Uladzimir Hancharou is a defendant in the Brest "dancing protest" case opened after the events of September 13, 2020, when the protesters were dispersed by a water cannon.
Hancharou was detained by three GUBAZIK officers together with his family (wife and children aged 5 and 8). During the interrogation, the children were held in the corridor for four hours. After that, the entire family were taken to the Investigative Committee's local office and interrogated again for four hours. Then the wife and the children were released, while Uladzimir was transferred to the Kobryn pre-trial detention center, and from there to the Brest pre-trial detention center.
On November 15, 2021, the Brest District Court sentenced Hancharou to 18 months in a general-security penal colony.
While serving his sentence, the political prisoner was tried again for ‘insulting a traffic policeman’ (Article 369 of the Criminal Code of the Republic of Belarus). On February 1, 2022 the Lieninski District Court of Mahilioŭ found Uladzimir guilty and sentenced him to 24 months of restricted freedom in an open-type correctional facility. Judge Aksana Ratnikava initially sentenced Hancharou to 24 months of imprisonment in a penal colony.
