New Criminal Case Opened Against Former Political Prisoner and Drummer Aliaksei Sanchuk

Reform.news Editorial Team · 29 October 2026, 15:19

https://reform.news/en/new-criminal-case-opened-against-former-political-prisoner-and-drummer-aliaksei-sanchuk/

Former political prisoner Aliaksei Sanchuk was summoned to the Investigative Committee’s Soviet District office in Minsk for questioning as a suspect. He received the summons for October 13 only after his release and departure from Belarus, the Viasna Human Rights Center reports.

He believes the criminal case may have been opened under Article 422 of the Belarusian Criminal Code, which provides for liability for evading preventive supervision.

“Apparently, the criminal case was opened under Article 422 of the Belarusian Criminal Code [evading preventive supervision] because I failed to register with the district police department within the legally prescribed period, which constitutes grounds for criminal prosecution,” Sanchuk said.

In 2020, Aliaksei Sanchuk was part of a group of drummers who took part in demonstrations and helped boost the morale of protesters. Security forces decided that Sanchuk was one of the organisers of the rallies. He was detained on November 4, 2020, and sentenced to six years in prison. In early July 2026, he was released after serving his full sentence and soon left Belarus.