Sergey Bespalov

Affiliated media: Telegram channel “Maya Kraina Belarus” (My Country Belarus) , Blogger

Incident date: February 26, 2025

Attack type:

• Court trial

Who attacked: Authorities

Source: Belarusian Association of Journalists

Location: Belarus, Minsk

Additional information:

A trial in absentia has begun in the Minsk Regional Court against blogger and creator of the Telegram channel “Maya Kraina Belarus” (My Country Belarus), Sergey Bespalov. The case is being presided over by Judge Alexander Rybakov. The investigation was conducted under a special procedure — in the absence of the defendant. Sergey Bespalov is charged under 10 articles of the Criminal Code of the Republic of Belarus, including conspiracy to seize state power, as well as defamation and insult of Alexander Lukashenko. He is also accused of causing harm to the state. According to Dmitry Brilev, a representative of the Prosecutor General's Office, who announced the charges in January against "the founder and leader of the extremist formation Maya Kraina Belarus," the blogger is facing a civil claim of more than 30 million Belarusian rubles (approximately 9,606,148 USD).