Viktar Kulinka is a digital artist. He was detained on March 30, 2022. A “repentant” video appeared on pro-government Telegram channels, where he said he had photographed a Russian military convoy heading toward Homieĺ. According to him, he sent the photo to Bielaruski hajun, a popular Telegram project aimed to monitor military activity in Belarus and recognized extremist on March 16.

According to preliminary information, Viktar is incriminated under Article 361-4 and Article 361-1 of the Criminal Code (Participation in an extremist formation) for his registration in the "Peramoha plan", which law enforcement officers found while inspecting his smartphone.

On August 29, 2022, the trial on Kulinka's case started in the Homieĺ Regional Court. On September 1, the verdict was pronounced—the artist was found guilty and sentenced to three years of imprisonment in a medium-security penal colony.

Taking pics of Russian troops considered extremism

Seven criminal cases have been opened in the Homieĺ region bordering Ukraine for passing on the information about Russian military vehicles movement to “extremist” Telegram channels, the Investigative Committee reports. Cases are brought under Article 361-4 of the Criminal Code (Promoting extremist activities); detainees face up to six years in prison. Viasna tells what is known about them.