On December 21, Shchuchyn district court completed hearing the case of Hrodna-based blogger Vadzim ‘Vadimati’ Yermashuk. The man has been behind bars for over four months.
Yermashuk was charged under two articles of the Criminal Code of Belarus – ‘mockery of state symbols’ (Article 370) and insulting the president (Article 368).
According to the authorities, the defendant ‘deliberately humiliated’ Alyaksandr Lukashenka and mocked at the state flag in his posts on Instagram. In August and September 2020, Vadzim published photos of Lukashenka with the captions ‘illegitimate president’, ‘Europe’s last dictator’, etc.
Today judge Dzmitry Tsivunchyk passed a guilty verdict and sentenced Vadzim Yermashuk to three years of imprisonment.
In court, Vadzim refused to testify and pleaded not guilty. After the verdict was announced, Vadzim Yermashuk thanked all those who supported him and promised them to go through this difficult time with dignity.
Vadzim Yermashuk is an Instagram blogger and seller at the Karona market. In the wake of the 2020 presidential election, he attended trials of political prisoners and spoke against police violence.
On August 16, Vadimati was detained over allegedly calling for taking part in an unofficial sports event at a skate playground in the town of Shchuchyn (Hrodna region). As a sign of protest, Vadzim refused to eat behind bars, where he spent three days awaiting his trial. Charged under Art. 24.23 of the Code of Administrative Offences (violating rules of holding mass events), Yermashuk was tried in Shchuchyn district court on August 19; the same judge Dzmitry Tsivunchyk sentenced him to 25 days in jail.
When Vadzim was serving his first term, one more administrative case was initiated against him on the back of his calling the 115 service. According to the prosecutor’s version, then the man used bad language when speaking about the housing system and the city executive committee. The hearing of the new case began on September 8; it was conducted by video link. Notably, the hearing was postponed for two days in a row due to Vadzim’s ill health. As he had fever and hypertension, an ambulance was called to him. As a result, the defendant was placed under arrest for another 15 days.
When Vadzim was under administrative arrest, the Belarusian authorities opened two criminal cases against him. The trial started on December 14.
belsat.eu
