Blogger convicted for reacting to Lukashenko caricature with smiley face dies in Belarusian prison

Nikolai Klimovich, a political prisoner and blogger who was sentenced to a year in prison for reacting to a caricature of self-proclaimed Belarusian president Alexander Lukashenko with a smiley face, has died in Vitebsk Penal Colony.

Source: Belarusian human rights centre Viasna (Spring)

Details: Human rights activists have reported that Klimovich, 61, died in Vitebsk Penal Colony No. 3.

On 28 February, in the Pinsk District and City Court, Klimovich was sentenced to one year’s imprisonment for reacting to a caricature of Lukashenko on Odnoklassniki [a social media service used mainly in Russia and post-Soviet states], despite the fact that he had a Group II heart condition and had suffered a stroke and undergone complex heart surgery.

The court accused Klimovich of insulting Lukashenko under Article 368 of the Criminal Code of Belarus in a satirical image that he had allegedly posted on social media. The blogger had reacted to the picture on Odnoklassniki as "funny" and so the caricature was placed on his page’s feed. According to Klimovich, he had not intended to distribute these caricatures; he was only laughing at them.

Klimovich was detained in the courtroom, as he had been at large before the verdict was handed down. The blogger had said before the verdict that he might die in prison.

The Brest Oblast Court upheld the verdict on 21 April. Shortly afterwards, Klimovich was transferred to Vitebsk Penal Colony No. 3 – he was transported all over Belarus. He was in the penal colony for about two weeks.

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