Belarus court sentences activist extradited from Russia to 12 years
The Minsk City Court sentenced on Tuesday, June 6, the Belarusian activist Yana Pinchuk to 12 years in prison in the case of the management of three Telegram channels, which the country’s authorities consider “extremist”.
The girl was found guilty in articles about creating an “extremist formation”, calling for action against national security, inciting hatred, preparing for riots and creating a terrorist organization. The trial took place behind closed doors.
Proceedings against Pinchuk were initiated for running the “Vitebsk 97%” chatroom, which was later declared “extremist”. Pinchuk stated that she had ceased to be the chat admin before receiving “extremist” status.
Pinchuk extradited from Russia
A citizen of Belarus, Yana Pinchuk, has been living in St. Petersburg since 2018. In 2021, she was detained following an extradition request by the Belarusian authorities. Pinchuk applied for refugee status in Russia but was turned down.
In July 2022, a Russian court decided to extradite her to Belarus. Lawyers tried to appeal against the decision of the Public Ministry of the Russian Federation to extradite Pinchuk, and the UN Human Rights Committee opposed this decision, but the Russian court upheld it. In September of the same year, Russia extradited Pinchuk to Belarus.
Source: DW
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