Samizdat publisher gets lengthy prison term

July 4, BPN. The Minsk City Court has sentenced Andrej Famin, 29, to seven years in a medium-security prison, the Viasna Human Rights Center reports.

Judge Anžela Kaściukievič reportedly handed down the verdict on June 21, finding Famin guilty of participating in protests, calling for sanctions order and creating an extremist group. His trial lasted for about a week.

Police arrested Famin in October 2022. Authorities said he edited and wrote for the Vestniki samizdat periodical that was declared extremist a few weeks after his arrest.

A native of Mahiloŭ, Famin worked as copywriter in Minsk after graduating from the Belarusian State Academy of Arts.