Ivan Kotau

sentenced to 3 1/2 years of imprisonment

Prisoner

Date of birth: 9 June 1998

Date of detention: 6 December 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. 361 of the Criminal Code — Calls for actions aimed at causing harm to the national security of the Republic of Belarus
  • Art. 368 of the Criminal Code — Insulting the President of the Republic of Belarus
  • Art. 130 of the Criminal Code — Incitement to hatred

Sentence: 3 1/2 years

Penalty: imprisonment in a general-security penal colony

Judge: Uladzimir Areshka

Prison: Penal colony No. 1

Groups: Athletes, Bloggers

On the list of “terrorists” (Money transfers are prohibited)

Ivan Kotau is 24 years old. He is from the Smaliavičy District, Minsk region. He is fond of sports. In 2017, he received the rank of a candidate for master of sports in powerlifting without equipment. In 2020, Kotau graduated from the Belarusian National Technical University with a specialty in "Technical maintenance of sports facilities".

Ivan Kotau is also fond of football and volleyball and runs his sports news channel on YouTube. He is the ex-host of the Eniergietyk-BDU Minsk football club's social networks.

In 2020, he was detained during the protest actions. In 2021, he was detained at a concert of the Belarusian RSP rock band at a recreation center near Smaliavičy and arrested for 15 days.

On February 27, 2023, in the Minsk Regional Court, he was convicted under four articles of the Criminal Code: Part 1 of Article 130 ('Inciting other social hatred and enmity'), Part 1 of Article 342 ('Organization and preparation of actions grossly disrupting public order or active participation in them'), Part 3 of Article 361 ('Calls for restrictive measures (sanctions) and other actions aiming to harm the national security of Belarus'), and Part 1 of Article 368 ('Contempt of the President of Belarus'). Judge Uladzimir Areshka sentenced Ivan Kotau to three years and six months of imprisonment in a general-security penal colony.

Mail address: Penal colony No. 1. 211440, Navapolack, vulica Techničnaya 8

Addresses of prisons:

What should I know and how to help?

✉️ Write a letter. Make a scan of your letter or postcard and share it online

🤝 Please use the Russian (or Belarusian) name of the prison

💡 Foreign-language messages may be blocked, so attach a translation (e.g. translate.google.com)

💡 A big guide about helping Belarusian political prisoners from abroad

💡 More tips here

Support “Viasna”