Siarhei Kananovich

served full term, released

Former prisoner

Date of birth: 16 May 1995

Date of detention: 24 March 2021

Charges indicted:

  • Art. 342 of the Criminal Code — Organization and preparation of actions that grossly violate public order, or active participation in them

Sentence: 1 1/2 years

Penalty: restricted freedom in an open penal facility ("khimiya")

Prison sentence start date: 11 December 2021

Date of release: 25 July 2022

Judge: Dzmitryi Kurouski

Prosecutor: Aliaksandr Batsiushka, Mikhail Yushchuk

Cases: The round dance case

Siarhei Kananovich is a resident of Pružany detained on March 24, 2021, as part of the so-called "dancing protest case" opened after a demonstration on September 13, 2020, in Brest. That day, several hundred people gathered in central Brest to sing songs and dance. The protest was dispesred by a water cannon. Dozens were detained.

Kananovich was charged under Article 342 of the Criminal Code (active participation in group actions grossly violating public order). He was held in pre-trial detention center No. 7 in Brest.

On August 30, 2021, the Lieninski District Court of Brest sentenced Kananovich to 18 months of “khimiya” imprisonment, after spending five months in pre-trial detention.

Siarhei served his sentence in full and was released on July 25, 2022.

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