Ihar Losik

Affiliated media: Telegram channel "Belarus Golovnogo Mozga" , Blogger

Incident date: December 14, 2021

Attack type:

• Court trial

Who attacked: Authorities

Source: Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty

Location: Belarus, Gomel

Additional information:

Gomel Regional Court sentenced Ihar Losik, author of the Telegram channel "Belarus Golovnogo Mozga" and journalist of Radio Svaboda, to 15 years in prison under a strengthened regime. He was accused of inciting social hatred «against government officials and law enforcement officers» by a group of people (Part 3 of Article 130 of the Criminal Code of the Republic of Belarus) and of organising mass riots (Part 1 of Article 293 of the Criminal Code of the Republic of Belarus). The court also ruled to recover more than BYN 2.5 million for «material damage caused by the crime» from all defendants (Siarhei Tihanouski, Mikalai Statkevich, Ihar Losik, Uladzimir Tsyganovich, Artsiom Sakau, and Zmitser Papou). The trial was held behind closed doors in the on-site sessions in the Gomel pre-trial detention centre. The blogger was detained on June 25, 2020, and since then, he has been held behind bars until the trial.