Sviatlana Lupach, convicted daughter of independent journalist Dzmitry Lupach, listed as extremist
22 January 2024
Sviatlana Lupach’s name was included in the List of Citizens of the Republic of Belarus, Foreign Citizens, and Stateless Persons Involved in Extremist Activities on January 19th. According to the list record, Lupach was imprisoned under Article 342 of the Criminal Code for organizing or participating in actions that grossly violated public order. Last August, the human rights community recognized her as a political prisoner.
Sviatlana Lupach was detained on 1 May 2023, while she was resting with friends on a farm in the Hlybokaje district. The police took several people to the station but released all but Sviatlana.
The police drew up an administrative offense report after checking her mobile phone. She was then sentenced to 10 days of detention for distributing extremist content. While Sviatlana was serving her sentence, another report was filed against her, and she was fined $285.
Sviatlana was not released after her initial detention; instead, she was charged with participating in actions that grossly violated public order over two photos from the 2020 Minsk protests found on her mobile phone.
Sviatlana Lupach’s trial took place in October of last year, and her sentence was handed down by Judge Mikhail Yurchanka. Her appeal was dismissed.
Her father and journalist Dzmitry Lupach was forced to leave Belarus earlier due to the threat of a criminal case. He believes that his daughter is being persecuted by law enforcement as revenge for his professional activity.
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