Son of well-known Belarusian opposition figure sentenced to 8 years in prison

On 5 July, the Minsk Oblast Court in Belarus sentenced political prisoner Eduard Babaryka to eight years in a maximum-security penal colony. Babaryka is the son of opposition figure Viktar Babaryka, who was sentenced in 2021.

Source: Belarusian media outlet Zerkalo, citing the Viasna human rights centre

Details: The court found Eduard Babaryka guilty of tax evasion on a large scale, money laundering, organising mass protests, and inciting hatred.

Eduard pleaded not guilty. "I have not committed any of the crimes I am being accused of. The investigation has found no evidence of my guilt," he stated earlier in court.

Eduard Babaryka co-founded two now defunct crowdfunding platforms, Vylyk and MolaMola. In May 2020 he was in charge of running his father’s election campaign. Both were detained on 18 June of that year. Eduard has spent more than three years behind bars.

Background:

• In July 2021, a Belarusian court sentenced Viktar Babaryka, an opposition figure and former head of Belgazprombank, to 14 years in prison.
• Babaryka was considered Alexander Lukashenko’s main rival in the 2020 presidential elections in Belarus, but he was not permitted to stand.
• Once Babaryka announced his intention to run for presidential office, the Belarusian security forces named him as the leader of a criminal gang. He and his son Eduard were detained that very morning.
• After the presidential campaign had begun, Babaryka was placed in a pre-trial detention centre. He was accused of money laundering, tax evasion and bribery.

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