The Lieninski District Court of Minsk set the trial date in the criminal case against Viasna human rights defenders. Viasna Chairman and Nobel Peace Prize 2022 laureate Ales Bialiatski, his deputy Valiantsin Stefanovich, and Human Rights Defenders for Free Elections campaign coordinator Uladzimir Labkovich are in the dock. Zmitser Salauyou, another defendant, has left Belarus and will be tried in absentia
Judge Maryna Zapasnik will preside over the trial, which begins on January 5, 2022. Viasna rights defenders are charged with ‘smuggling by an organized group’ under Part 4 Article 228 of the Criminal Code and ‘financing of group actions grossly violating the public order’ under Part 2 of Article 342 of the Criminal Code.
Three human rights defenders have been in custody since July 14, 2021. They face 7 to 12 years of imprisonment. It has not yet been announced that the trial will be closed to the public.