Алексей Ягелло. Источник фото: gomelspring.org
Christian preacher Aliaksei Yahella, convicted of “aiding extremism,” remains in custody, the Viasna Human Rights Centre reports.
Earlier it was reported that the 41-year-old resident of Homiel had been found guilty of “aiding extremist activity” under Parts 1 and 2 of Article 361-4 of the Criminal Code. It was assumed that the prosecution was connected to the case of the monitoring channel Belaruski Hajun. It had not been clear whether the sentence involved imprisonment or restricted freedom with placement in a correctional facility (“khimiya”).
Human rights defenders have now learned that he is being held in Homiel pre-trial detention centre No. 3 and has been sentenced to imprisonment.
Aliaksei Yahella is trained as a surgeon, although he never worked in that profession. He is an evangelical preacher and an active proponent of healthy living. A regional newspaper previously wrote about the promotion of his smoking-cessation method.
Belarusian authorities routinely use extremism-related charges to target opponents and dissent more broadly.