Uladzimir Harokh
sentenced to 7 years in prison
Prisoner
Date of birth: 26 May 1973
Date of detention: 18 August 2020
Charges indicted:
- Part 1 of Art. 293 of the Criminal Code — Organization of riots
- Art. 368 of the Criminal Code — Insulting the President of the Republic of Belarus
Sentence: 7 years
Penalty: imprisonment in a high security prison
Judge: Vasil Aliakhnovich
Prison: Prison No. 4
Notes: Prison security level
Statement on the status of a political prisoner
Uladzimir Harokh is from Navahrudak, Hrodna region. He was arrested on August 18, 2020, as a defendant in the so-called Kareličy case—the case on the allegedly planned riots after the 2020 presidential elections in the towns of Kareličy and Navahrudak. Uladzimir Harokh was charged under Part 1 of Article 293 of the Criminal Code (Preparation for riots).
Harokh was accused of allegedly deliberately preparing for the riots in Navahrudak and some other settlements and attempting to gather a large number of people for this purpose. For this, according to the prosecution, he planned and held meetings with people in Navahrudak and Kareličy. According to the official version, during the meetings, Harokh said that on August 10, 2020, he was planning to set fire to buildings, resist the authorities and block the roads with cut-down trees. However, he did not manage to do anything, since on August 7, 2020, law enforcement officers exposed and stopped his activities.
He was also accused of publicly insulting Lukashenka: on August 14, 2020, he posted in a local chat room "obscene and derogatory statements... which contain a negative assessment of A. Lukashenka.” Meanwhile, his children were detained during the peaceful protests in Minsk.
On December 15, 2020, the Navahrudak District Court began the trial of the political prisoners Uladzimir Harokh and Dzianis Kireshchanka. On December 29, 2020, the verdict was announced: Uladzimir Harokh was convicted under Part 1 of Article 293 (Preparation for riots) and under Article 368 (Contempt of the President of Belarus) and sentenced to 7 years imprisonment in a medium-security penal colony.
On June 28, 2022, the KGB added Uladzimir Harokh to the "List of persons involved in terrorist activities."
In penal colony #17 in Škloŭ (Mahilioŭ region), the political prisoner was systematically beaten, and the administration of the penal colony was biased towards him. He was repeatedly placed in a punishment cell and a tighter security cell.
On April 28, 2023, the Škloŭ District Court ruled to change the punishment level for Uladzimir Harokh to the prison regime. Now the political prisoner is in Prison #4 in Mahilioŭ. After his arrival, he was immediately thrown into a punishment cell.
