Aliaksandr Durayeu

Former prisoner

Date of detention: 6 January 2022

Charges indicted:

  • Art. 369 of the Criminal Code — Insulting a government official
  • Art. 295 of the Criminal Code — Unlawful acts against firearms, ammunition and explosives
  • Art. 368 of the Criminal Code — Insulting the President of the Republic of Belarus
  • Art. 367 of the Criminal Code — Slander against the President of the Republic of Belarus

Sentence: 3 years

Penalty: imprisonment in a general-security penal colony

Date of release: 12 August 2024

Judge: Vital Labotski

Groups: Doctors

Cases: Protests in Hrodna

Aliaksandr Durayeu worked as an orthopedic dentist at the medical and sanitary department of the Hrodna Azot state-owned company producing nitrogen fertilizers.

Durayev was detained at the beginning of January 2022. Before the trial, he was held in Hrodna Prison #1.

The video of the search of Durayev's house on the Telegram channel of GUBOPiK (Main Department for Combating Organized Crime and Corruption) showed a gun, cartridges, and magazines with nude women pictures. Durayev explained that he brought the cartridges from Mongolia in 1990. As for the magazines, the law enforcement officers provided no explanations.

The trial, led by the judge Vital Labotski, began on April 28, 2022, but the proceedings were suspended for comprehensive linguistic examinations.

Durayev was accused of 'insulting a government official' (Article 369 of the Criminal Code), insulting and slandering Aliaksandr Lukashenka (Part 1 of Article 368 and Part 2 of Article 367), and 'illegal actions in relation to firearms, ammunition and explosives' (Part 2 of Article 295). On October 3, 2022, the Kastrychnitski District Court of of Hrodna sentenced him to three (3) years of imprisonment in a penal colony.

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