Yana Pinchuk, a Belarusian activist extradited from Russia, is charged under five criminal articles, the Viasna human rights center reports.
The human rights activists managed to clarify the articles on the Electronic Court Proceedings portal. Pinchuk is charged with:
- creation or participation in an extremist formation (Part 1 of Article 361-1 of the Criminal Code);
- calls for action against national security (Part 3 of Article 361 of the Criminal Code);
- inciting social hatred and discord (Part 3 of Article 130 of the Criminal Code);
- riots (Part 3 of Article 293 of the Criminal Code);
- creation of a terrorist organization or participation in it (Part 1 of Article 290-4 of the Criminal Code).
In my country blocked
present tense
Yana Pinchuk was detained on November 1, 2021 in her apartment at the request of the Belarusian authorities. Two days later, a court in St. Petersburg arrested the girl. She asked Russia to provide her with temporary asylum, but was refused. On September 1, 2022, Russia extradited Pinchuk to Belarus for prosecution.
According to investigators, from September 2020 to November 2021, Pinchuk was the administrator of three Telegram channels, including Vitebsk 97%. “For the purpose of inciting other social enmity,” she posted messages with a “negative assessment” of the authorities. Defenders say Pinchuk deleted the account after authorities declared the Telegram channel “extremist.”
The Moscow Helsinki Group reported that on July 13, the UN Human Rights Committee banned Pinchuk’s extradition to her homeland. The committee urged the Russian authorities to “ensure the protection of the life, physical and mental integrity” of the activist and “refrain from extraditing her” while the UN considers her complaint on the merits. The defendant’s lawyer, Maria Belyaeva, explained to the BBC Russian Service that this was the first time that a UN structure interfered in the deportation of Belarusian oppositionists from Russia.
