The seized apartment of Hrodna-based journalist Uladzimir Khilmanovich, who was sentenced in absentia to five years in a penal colony and fined under “extremism” charges, is set to be sold at auction, reported the Belarusian Association of Journalists.
Khilmanovich received a letter from the enforcement department of the Leninski District of Hrodna stating that his apartment had been valued at 126,000 rubles. The valuation was carried out on February 25 by a local branch of BelYurObespechenie, a structure of the Justice Ministry responsible for selling confiscated and seized property at auction. The auction date has not yet been set.
Khilmanovich’s fine amounts to 40,000 rubles. He believes that the remaining funds after paying the fine should be transferred to a bank account, but he does not have an account in a Belarusian bank.
“And if I do not claim this money, it will after some time be seized in favor of the state,” the journalist said.
Both Khilmanovich and his eldest son are registered in the apartment.
Khilmanovich left Belarus in 2021. In 2024, he was sentenced in absentia to five years in a penal colony under articles on facilitating “extremist” activity (Part 1 of Article 361-4 of the Criminal Code) and participation in an “extremist” formation (Part 3 of Article 361-1 of the Criminal Code).
