Attorney Alexander Danilevich Is Sentenced to 10 Years’ Imprisonment
Alexander Danilevich was sentenced to 10 years in prison. He did not plead guilty and insisted that he had performed his professional duties.
Earlier, Dmitry Laevsky had stated that such a term was requested by prosecutor Tatyana Tsybulia. Alexander Danilevich was accused of abetting public calls for actions aimed at harming the national security of the Republic of Belarus (Article 16, Part 6 and Article 361, Part 3 of the Criminal Code). The prosecution argued that Alexander Danilevich, "though being an attorney, PhD in law, possessing special knowledge in the field of jurisprudence", deliberately assisted sportspersons A. Herasimenia and A. Opeikin (who were his clients) "by providing legal advice in the field of international sports law". It should be noted that Aliaksandra Herasimenia and Alexander Opeikin were sentenced in absentia to 12 years in a penal colony.
According to the prosecution, his appeals spread "deliberately false information" about the events that took place in Belarus ("on the course and results of the election campaign," "on the situation in the social, economic and political spheres," on human rights violations "allegedly committed by representatives and supporters of the current government"), and contained calls to investigate the violations, postpone sports events, impose sanctions against Belarus, the National Olympic Committee and state officials.
Moreover, the prosecution also asserts that in addition to the sportspersons, the attorney has assisted some "unidentified persons" who formed strike committees at the Belaruskali (Belarusian manufacturer and exporter of potash fertilizers) in the aftermath of the 2020 elections, "by providing legal advice in the field of international law". He allegedly helped draw up appeals from the Belaruskali strike committee to the Norwegian company Yara, a significant buyer of Belaruskali potash products. The prosecution believes that these letters contained "deliberately false information" about the events in Belarus (on the same topics) and called on the Yara leaders to terminate contractual relations with Belaruskali, including the purchase of products.
The second article in the charges brought against the attorney is the facilitation of extremist activity (Article 361-4, Part 1 of the Criminal Code). According to the prosecution, this crime was committed by way of giving an interview to an unidentified person for subsequent dissemination on Tri*una Internet resource (which is recognized as extremist in Belarus) in March 2022.