Volha Kraiko
sentenced to 2 1/2 years of freedom restriction
Former prisoner
Date of birth: 18 February 1960
Date of detention: 15 October 2022
Charges indicted:
- Art. 342 of the Criminal Code — Organization and preparation of actions that grossly violate public order, or active participation in them
- Art. 295 of the Criminal Code — Unlawful acts against firearms, ammunition and explosives
Sentence: 2 1/2 years
Penalty: restricted freedom under home confinement ("domashnyaya khimiya")
Judge: Volha Yemelyanchanka
Cases: Protests in Minsk
Volha Kraiko is the mother of the political prisoners Uladzimir Karakin and Dzmitryi Karakin—musicians, members of the Litesound rock group that represented Belarus at the 2012 Eurovision Song Contest.
In October 2022, the entire Karakin family was arrested: the brothers Dzmitryi and Uladzimir, their mother Volha Kraiko and their father Yuryi Karakin. Previously, only the arrest of the brothers was reported. According to the human rights defenders, the law enforcers wrecked the family's house during the search.
Criminal cases under Article 342 ('Organization or preparation of actions grossly breaching public order') were started against all the detainees. The law enforcers found a family photo taken on the roadway during one of the peaceful Sunday marches in 2020.
Yuryi Karakin had a stroke in the detention center, now he is at home. The rest of the family were in remand prison #1 in Minsk.
It is known that the Karakin family was also accused under Part 1 of Article 295 of the Criminal Code ('Illegal actions in relation to firearms, ammunition, and explosives').
The trial occurred on March 10, 2023, in the Saviecki District Court of Minsk. Volha Kraiko was sentenced to 2 years and 6 months of freedom restriction under home confinement.
