Latvian Citizen Faces Up To 10 Years In Belarusian Prison Under Three Political Articles

• 2.11.2024, 11:38

His arrest was not previously reported.

The trial of Latvian resident Juris Ganins will begin in the Minsk City Court on November 12. He is accused under three articles of the Criminal Code – "discrediting Belarus" (Article 369-1 of the Criminal Code), "slander against Lukashenka" (Part 2 of Article 367 of the Criminal Code) and "calls for sanctions" (Part 2 of Article 361 of the Criminal Code). Juris faces up to ten years in prison, Nasha Niva reports.

Notably, only a few people have been tried under the second part of the article on calls for sanctions. The wording of the article is as follows: “calls addressed to a foreign state, foreign or international organisation to commit actions aimed at causing damage to the national security of Belarus, including the application of restrictive measures (sanctions) against Belarus, individuals and legal entities of Belarus, or the dissemination of materials containing such calls.” What exactly the Latvian did is unclear — anything can fit such an abstract formulation. In most political trials in Belarus, the essence of the case remains unknown to the public; in such cases, even lawyers sign a non-disclosure agreement.