Maksim Viniarski

activist of the European Belarus opposition group, sentenced to 5 years in prison

Prisoner

Date of birth: 28 July 1981

Date of detention: 22 January 2021

Charges indicted:

  • Part 1 of Article 13 and Article 293 of the Criminal Code — Preparation for mass riots

Sentence: 5 years

Penalty: imprisonment in a medium-security penal colony

Judge: Iryna Lanchava

Prison: Penal colony No. 3

Groups: Activists

Cases: Protests in Minsk

Godparent: Tom van der Lee, Member of the Dutch Parliament

Maksim Viniarski is an activist of the European Belarus opposiiton group. He is a principled and long-standing opponent of the current political regime. For his exclusively peaceful political activity, Viniarski has been repeatedly repressed by the authorities, including through fines, short terms in prison, beatings and intimidation.

On January 22, 2020, he was detained by GUBAZIK officers. During the search of the detainee's apartment, they siezed computer equipment, smartphones, white-red-white symbols, stickers and spray paint.

He was later charged under Art. 13, Part 2 of Article 293 of the Criminal Code ("preparation for participation in mass riots").

On May 25, 2021, Judge Iryna Lanchava of the Mahilioŭ Regional Court sentenced Viniarski to 5 years in a medium-security penal colony. The trial was held behind closed doors, since, as explained in court, “the case file belongs to a secret protected by law.”

Mail address: Penal colony No. 3. 211322, Viciebsk region, Vićba

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