Post worker who leaked info about Belarus police officers gets three-month prison term
On January 22, postwoman Larysa Tankashkur stood trial in Pershamayski district court of Minsk.
In late September, after the brutal detention of the participants in a local meeting of neighbours, the Minsker sent to the administrator of one of the protest Telegram channels police officers’ personal data, i.e. the names and addresses of subscribers to the Interior Ministry’s newspaper On Guard.
The post worker was charged with illegal collection and spreading privacy information (Article 171 of the Criminal Code). In the case, 35 people, including lecturers at the Academy of the Ministry of Internal Affairs and the traffic police deputy head, were recognised as the offended party in the case.
Larysa Tankashkur has been found guilty; judge Tatsyana Linnik has sentenced the woman to three months of arrest.
On 9 August 2020, the large-scale protests started in the country; the major demands of Belarusians are Lukashenka’s resignation; holding a free and fair election; releasing political prisoners; putting an end to police violence as well as bringing to justice those involved in battering and torturing peaceful demonstrators. Since then, more than 31,000 people have been detained throughout Belarus. Many of them were beaten, some were raped. There are at least seven death cases that are linked to the post-election protests. Hundreds of persons, including Belsat TV journalists Katsyaryna Andreyeva and Darya Chultsova, are parties to criminal proceedings, the number of political prisoners exceeded 180. Several thousand detainees filed complaints against police officers’ illegal actions to the Investigative Committee. However, not a single criminal case has been opened over the citizens’ appeals.
