Polish citizen Robert Tapała has been sentenced in Belarus for allegedly insulting the Belarusian dictator Alyaksandr Lukashenko and representatives of the regime.
A 54-year-old Pole sentenced in Belarus
Polish citizen Robert Tapała has been sentenced in Belarus for allegedly insulting the Belarusian dictator Alyaksandr Lukashenko and representatives of the regime, the Belarusian Center for Human Rights Wiasna reported on Friday.
"Polish citizen Robert Tapala sentenced to three years for 'insulting Lukashenka'. Human rights defenders have reached the details of the trial against 54-year-old Pole Robert Tapala," Wiasna reported on Telegram.
As reported, the 54-year-old was sentenced under two articles of the penal code: Part. 1 article 368 – defamation of Lukashenko and art. 369 – defamation of representatives of power. It was also possible to determine that the 54-year-old got three years in a penal colony. “It has already been sent” says Wisna. It was reported that the Pole was to be placed in a heavy penal colony in Nowoplock.
On Friday, he was also included in the “List of Belarusian citizens, foreigners and stateless persons associated with extremist activities.” According to Wiasna's findings, Tąpała worked for a confectionery company in Belarus.
The Viasna Human Rights Center is an independent, non-governmental Belarusian human rights organization. It was founded in 1996 during mass protest actions of the democratic opposition in Belarus. From the beginning, it was headed by Ales Bialiatski, awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. In March this year, Byalyatski was sentenced by the Lukashenko regime to ten years in prison.