Belarusan citizen Kiryl Silivonchyk got two years in prison in Russia for solidarity with Ukraine

There were neither journalists nor relatives. His lawyer explained it with the fact that the mother and the brother of the Belarusan live in a village far from Gomel.

A court in Russia sentenced Kiryl Silivonchyk, 22, to two years of penal settlement for calls ‘Give Crimea back to Ukraine’ in social media.

It is his defence lawyer Julia Baronets who has given the convict’s name and place of birth (Homiel region) to Belarusian newspaper Nasha Niva. The woman was the only person who was present at the trial. There were neither journalists nor relatives, Belsat informs.

Kiryl Silivonchyk worked as a network engineer at a plant in the Russian city of Nizhniy Novgorod. In December, 2014 he was arrested and charged under Art. 205.2. of Russia’ Criminal Code (public incitement to terrorist activity or public justification of terrorism). In Russia such cases fall under the jurisdiction of the military court, even if a charge is brought against a civilian.

According to investigators, the Belarusian posted pictures and texts dedicated to the events in Ukraine, called to give Crimea back to Ukraine on his Vkontakte social network profile in October 2014. There was also a photo of Ukrainian soldiers tearing the Russian flag.

As of today, Kiryl is being kept in predetention Centre No 1 in Nizhniy Novgorod. Next week the authorities are to decide which penal colony settlement Silivonchyk will be sent to.

The convict has a mild disability, the defence lawyer stressed.

Supposedly, in court Silivonchik chose the tactics aimed at the minimization of the sentence.

The Belarusian pleaded guilty, which led to the simplification of procedure and later resulted in lenient sentencing. In general, the article provides the punishment of up to 7 years in prison. Silivonchyk could not count on probation because he does not have permanent residence in the Russian Federation, the lawyer said.

The case failed to cause any public outcry in Russia. According to the lawyer, there was no response of human rights defenders or journalists either.