The Viasna Human Rights Centre in Belarus reported on Monday that the prison term of Yuras Zyankovich, a Belarusian American lawyer, has been extended by two, bringing his sentence to a total of 13 and a half years, amid Belarus’ suppression of political opposition.

Zyankovich was detained and arrested in Moscow on April 13, 2021, for allegedly planning to overthrow Belarus’ government, which included the attempted assassination of President Alexander Lukashenko, in the Conspirator Case. He was given an 11-year sentence on September 5, 2022, and six months were added to his sentence later that same year. Zyankovich’s case was heard on July 29, 2022, and on August 8, Zyankovich admitted to his guilt.

Zyankovich was convicted under Article 361 of The Criminal Code of the Republic of Belarus; “calls for actions aimed at harming the national security of the Republic of Belarus”, Article 361-1; “Creation of an extremist formation”, Article 369; “insulting a representative of the authorities”, Article 357; “conspiracy to seize power by unconstitutional means”, Article 361-1, “creation of an extremist formation or participation on it”, and Article 130; “racial, national, religious or other social enmity or different, rehabilitation of Nazism.”

On August 7, 2024, in the District Court Mogilyov Lenin area, Zyankovich was given two more years for his sentence and was convicted of “malicious disobedience to the requirements of the administration of the correctional institution, serving a sentence in the form of deprivation of liberty”, under Article 411. The two-year sentence has only recently become known. According to the Viasna Human Rights Centre, Zyankovich was denied access to a lawyer, faced both “harassment and intimidation by authorities” within the Pre-Trial Detention Centre of the KGB of Belarus and his health has deteriorated.

Human Rights Watch has reported that Belarus has cracked down on opposition, targeting lawyers, human rights activists and journalists. In 2023, the Belarusian government suppressed critics, imprisoning people based on “political charges” and subjected such prisoners to torture and mistreatment. Nada Al-Nashif, the Deputy High Commissioner for Human Rights in the United Nations, noted in a report that Belarus’ authorities have “intensified their massive crackdown on members of civil society, the media and political opposition for exercising their rights to freedom of expression, peaceful assembly and association.”