A senior adviser to Svyatlana Tsikhanouskaya, Franak Vyachorka, bloggers Anton Matolka, Stsyapan Putsila (NEXTA), and Raman Pratasevich are prosecuted in one criminal case initiated by the Investigative Committee. This follows from a document published by the NEXTA telegram channel.
According to the document, Vyachorka, Matolka, Putsila, and Pratasevich are accused and suspected under the following articles of the Criminal Code:
Art. 357 “Conspiracy to seize power.”
Art. 342 p. 1.2 “Organization and preparation of actions grossly violating public order”;
Art. 293 p. 1.3 “Riots”;
Art. 130 p. 1.3 “Inciting hatred”;
Art. 361 p. 3 “Calls for actions aimed at causing harm to the national security of the Republic of Belarus”;
Art. 188 “Slander”;
Art. 368 p. 1 “Insulting the President of the Republic of Belarus”;
Art. 361-1 p. 1 “Creation of an extremist formation”;
Art. 361-2 p. 2 “Financing of extremist activities”;
Art. 356 p. 1 “Treason to the state.”
The document states that the case against Vyachorka, Putsila, Matolka, and Pratasevich was put into a separate proceeding from case # 20121110202 (this is a general case in which Belarusians are being persecuted for the 2020 protests).
The criminal prosecution of Putsila, Matolka, and Pratasevich is nothing new. But information about criminal cases against Franak Vyachorka has emerged for the first time.
Franak Vyachorka noted that he had just learned that he had become a defendant in a criminal case on his Facebook page.
“Well, it’s at least something! Nowadays, it’s a shame to be unprosecuted,” he commented.
