On 10 November in the Minsk City Court a sentence in the case of anarchist Mikalai Dziadok was announced.
Dziadok was accused in participation in “mass disorders” (article 342 of the Criminal Code), illegal activities involving flammable substances (article 295-3), and calls for actions aimed to undermine the national security (article 361). In fact, Dziadok was accused in participation in the peaceful demonstration on 23 August 2020 in Minsk and in calls, publicised through his widely read blogs, to participate in protests. Bottles containing fuel (without a wick, so no Molotov cocktails) were planted to his apartment by police.
Mikola rejected the accusations against him and called the case “persecution for my views and my desire to tell the truth.”
The prosecutor Anton Tiumencev demanded to sentence Dziadok to 5 years in a penal colony of general regime, as well as to compensation of ‘harm’ caused by ‘road blocades’ (the demonstration was huge, so its participants were staying not only on sidewalks, but on the traffic area of the road as well).
The judge Anastasia Popko sentenced Dziadok exectly to 5 years of incarceration. Mikola will also have to cover court expenses. His laptop will be confiscated as a ‘tool of the crime’. Every day of Mikola’s term in custody will be recounted as one-and-a-half day in a colony (as he had spent an year in custody before the court sentence, his overall term would become six months shorter).
Earlier, during the court hearing on 3 November, Mikola made a concluding statement:
“All participants of the process who have a degree in law do see and do understand what is happening. I want to thank my relatives, friends, anarchist comrades, journalists, human rights defenders, all people who are not indifferent, all those who value my work, for the support during the past year, including financial support. It is very important for me.
To those who participate in the organisation of this process, as well as other political repressions in my country, I would like to say: have no illusions! No papers written by you, no terror will stop human liberation and progress. We will nevertheless win!”