Mikalay Autukhovich ( be, Мікалай Аўтуховіч, born 7 January 1963) is a

Belarus Belarus,, , ; alternatively and formerly known as Byelorussia (from Russian ). officially the Republic of Belarus,; rus, Республика Беларусь, Respublika Belarus. is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe. It is bordered by R ...

ian businessman and political dissident who has twice been imprisoned by the government of Belarus. Belarusian courts have found him guilty of tax evasion and terrorism, but international human rights organization

Amnesty International Amnesty International (also referred to as Amnesty or AI) is an international non-governmental organization focused on human rights, with its headquarters in the United Kingdom. The organization says it has more than ten million members and sup ...

has stated that he is a prisoner of conscience imprisoned solely for peaceful protest.

Life

Prior to his arrest, Autukhovich worked at the

Vaukavysk Vawkavysk ( be, Ваўкавы́ск, ; russian: Волковы́ск; pl, Wołkowysk; lt, Valkaviskas; yi, וואלקאוויסק; names in other languages) is one of the oldest towns in southwestern Belarus and the capital of the Vawkavysk ...

-based taxi company Nika-taxi 22222. He also ran as an opposition candidate in the

2004 Belarusian parliamentary election Parliamentary elections were held in Belarus on 17 October 2004, with a second round of voting in two constituencies on 27 October, and a third round in one on 20 March 2005. The vast majority of successful candidates, 97 of 109, were independents ...

s. On 7 July 2006, he was arrested and charged with "large scale tax evasion and running business without a registration and a license". He was found guilty on both counts and sentenced to three-and-a-half years' home arrest. He was released in early 2009 following "pressure from the European Union and the United States". Shortly after his release, he was charged with involvement in a 2005

arson Arson is the crime of willfully and deliberately setting fire to or charring property. Although the act of arson typically involves buildings, the term can also refer to the intentional burning of other things, such as motor vehicles, wat ...

case, along with two other activists. Authorities later added additional charges of illegal weapons possession and "preparing a terrorist act". Autukhovich responded to the charges with a three-month

hunger strike A hunger strike is a method of non-violent resistance in which participants fast as an act of political protest, or to provoke a feeling of guilt in others, usually with the objective to achieve a specific goal, such as a policy change. Most ...

that lasted from February to April of that year, demanding that he be allowed to face to trial. In May, Autukhovich was tried, and while the terrorism charge against him was dropped, he was convicted of illegal possession of weapons and ammunition and given a five-year, two-month prison sentence. Autukhovich served his sentence in a labor camp in Ivatsevichy. He reportedly lacked legal representation after his lawyer, Paval Sapelka, was disbarred for representing opposition presidential candidate

Andrei Sannikov Andrei Olegovich Sannikov (or Andrei Sannikau, be, Андрэй Алегавіч Саннікаў, russian: Андрей Олегович Санников, born 8 March 1954) is a Belarusian politician and activist. In the early 1990s, he headed ...

in court. In December 2011, prison officials reported that Autukhovich had attempted suicide by slashing his wrists, but had survived and was in stable condition. According to the Viasna Human Rights Centre, following the incident, he was moved into a "closed regime", largely isolating him from contact with other prisoners. Radio Free Europe has described Autukhovich as being regarded as a

political prisoner A political prisoner is someone imprisoned for their political activity. The political offense is not always the official reason for the prisoner's detention. There is no internationally recognized legal definition of the concept, although n ...

by "activists at home and abroad".

has named him a prisoner of conscience and called for his immediate release.

Arrest in 2020

In December 2020, Autukhovich was arrested again. Investigators accuse Autukhovich of conducting several arson attacks against vehicles belonging to police officers and planning of attacks on their property. Autukhovich has rejected all of the charges. As for now, Autuchovich has been on a hunger strike in prison for 22 days and nothing is known about his conditions for three days after he fell during the trial proceedings. On October 17, 2022, the Hrodna Regional Court sentenced Autukhovich to 25 years in jail.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Autukhovich, Mikalay Amnesty International prisoners of conscience held by Belarus Belarusian businesspeople Belarusian democracy activists Belarusian dissidents Belarusian prisoners and detainees Living people 1963 births People convicted of illegal possession of weapons