Founder of Poland’s “Window to the East” Foundation Sentenced in Absentia to Five Years in Prison

The Hrodna Regional Court sentenced Pavel Mitskevich in absentia to five years of imprisonment in a medium-security penal colony and imposed a fine of 22,500 Belarusian rubles. The verdict was handed down on July 27, as reported by the Belarusian courts’ official web portal.

Pavel Mitskevich has lived in Poland for more than 20 years. In 2008, he founded the Window to the East foundation (Okno na Wschód) in Białystok. The organization works to promote good-neighborly relations with Eastern European countries, support migrants, and implement educational projects.

The court found Mitskevich guilty under two articles of the Criminal Code. One concerned “disseminating knowingly false information about the political and social situation of the Republic of Belarus, the legal status of citizens in the Republic of Belarus, and the activities of state bodies, discrediting the Republic of Belarus” (Article 369-1). Under this charge, he was sentenced to three years in a penal colony and fined 9,000 Belarusian rubles.

Under the charge of facilitating extremist activity (Part 2 of Article 361-4 of the Criminal Code), Mitskevich was sentenced to five years in a penal colony and fined 22,500 Belarusian rubles.

Under the rules for combining sentences, with the less severe sentence absorbed by the more severe one, the court imposed a final sentence of five years in a medium-security penal colony and a fine of 22,500 Belarusian rubles. The verdict may be appealed.