Syarhei Pyatrukhin, a Brest-based blogger and member of the movement “For Freedom, has been found guilty of insult and libel and punished by a heavy fine of 9,180 rubles (appr. $4,500).
Judge Alyaksandr Semyanchuk delivered the sentence in Leninski court of Brest on Thursday.
Earlier, a criminal case was initiated against him under Art. 188 and 189 after Pyatrukhin said in his videos that the local policemen had been involved in the beating of Pavel Kaminski in 2016.
Police officers Syarhei Ihnatsyk, Dzmitry Yakushevich, Ihar Halyantsich and Syarhei Takun witnessed in court as victims.
The prosecutor demanded the blogger should be sentenced to two years of restriction of liberty in an open-type correctional facility.
With account of compensations to the persons affected, Pyatrukhin will have to pay 17,680 rubles in the next 30 days. Until that moment, he will have been under house arrest, and his property will have been sequestered.
Syarhei Pyatrukhin is known for his videos in which he often slams certain actions and activities by the Brest authorities, including the police. In addition, he is an active participant in the protests against the construction of a hazardous battery plant in Brest.
