{"id":198581,"date":"2026-08-04T17:07:29","date_gmt":"2026-08-04T14:07:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/news\/198581\/"},"modified":"2026-08-04T17:07:31","modified_gmt":"2026-08-04T14:07:31","slug":"exiled-rocker-siarhiej-michalok-tried-in-his-absence-sentenced-to-four-years","status":"publish","type":"articles","link":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/news\/198581\/","title":{"rendered":"Exiled rocker Siarhiej Micha\u0142ok tried in his absence, sentenced to four years"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p><strong>August 4, <em>Pozirk.<\/em> <\/strong>A judge at the Minsk City Court has sentenced exiled Belarusian rock star Siarhiej Micha\u0142ok (Siarhei Mikhalok) to four years in prison, finding him guilty of inciting hatred and insulting Alaksandar \u0141uka\u0161enka.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>According to the public prosecutor, in 2021 and 2022, Micha\u0142ok posted anti-\u0141uka\u0161enka videos that featured obscene language.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In March 2022, Micha\u0142ok allegedly published a video that portrayed law-enforcement and military officers in a negative light and was aimed at \u201cinciting social hatred.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The Investigative Committee reported on May 18 that a criminal case had been opened against Siarhiej Micha\u0142ok.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Micha\u0142ok is known as the front man for the popular punk rock bands Lyapis Trubetskoy and Brutto. An outspoken supporter of Ukraine and critic of \u0141uka\u0161enka, he has been on the authorities\u2019 blacklist and has lived abroad for many years.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"insert-block\">\n\n    <div class=\"insert-block__img\">\n        <img decoding=\"async\" width=\"354\" height=\"236\" src=\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/pozirk_color_blank_1128x752-354x236.jpg\" class=\"attachment-medium size-medium\" alt=\"\" srcset=\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/pozirk_color_blank_1128x752-354x236.jpg 354w, https:\/\/pozirk.online\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/pozirk_color_blank_1128x752-734x490.jpg 734w, https:\/\/pozirk.online\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/pozirk_color_blank_1128x752-178x118.jpg 178w, https:\/\/pozirk.online\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/pozirk_color_blank_1128x752-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/pozirk.online\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/pozirk_color_blank_1128x752.jpg 1128w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 354px) 100vw, 354px\" \/>                        <label class=\"insert-block__tag--mobile\"> Politics<\/label>\n\n                <\/div>\n    <div class=\"insert-block__text\">\n                    <label class=\"insert-block__tag\">Politics<\/label>\n                <h3 class=\"insert-block__title\">Update on politically motivated persecution<\/h3>\n        <div class=\"insert-block__descr\">July 30, Pozirk. New cases of politically motivated persecution and repressive practices were recorded in Belarus on July 28 and 29.&nbsp; Below is Pozirk\u2019s recap: The Supreme Court of Belarus finished hearing an appeal against lengthy prison sentences for a &#8230;<\/div>\n        <a class=\"insert-block__btn-block\" href=\"\/en\/news\/197843\">\n            <button class=\"btn\">\n                <div class='btn__text'>Read<\/div>\n            <\/button>\n        <\/a>\n    <\/div>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>August 4, Pozirk. A judge at the Minsk City Court has sentenced exiled Belarusian rock star Siarhiej Micha\u0142ok (Siarhei Mikhalok) to four years in prison, finding him guilty of inciting hatred and insulting Alaksandar \u0141uka\u0161enka. According to the public prosecutor, in 2021 and 2022, Micha\u0142ok posted anti-\u0141uka\u0161enka videos that featured obscene language. In March 2022, [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":83,"featured_media":187987,"template":"","rubric":[16],"class_list":["post-198581","articles","type-articles","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","rubric-politics"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v25.5 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Exiled rocker Siarhiej Micha\u0142ok tried in his absence, sentenced to four years | Pozirk<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"August 4, Pozirk. A judge at the Minsk City Court has sentenced exiled Belarusian rock star Siarhiej Micha\u0142ok (Siarhei Mikhalok) to four years in prison,\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/news\/198581\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Exiled rocker Siarhiej Micha\u0142ok tried in his absence, sentenced to four years | Pozirk\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"August 4, Pozirk. A judge at the Minsk City Court has sentenced exiled Belarusian rock star Siarhiej Micha\u0142ok (Siarhei Mikhalok) to four years in prison,\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/news\/198581\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Pozirk\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/pozirkonline\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-08-04T14:07:31+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/mikhalok_wiki.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1128\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"752\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@Pozirk_online\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"1 minute\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"NewsArticle\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/news\/198581\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/news\/198581\/\"},\"headline\":\"Exiled rocker Siarhiej Micha\u0142ok tried in his absence, sentenced to four years\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-08-04T14:07:29+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-08-04T14:07:31+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/news\/198581\/\"},\"wordCount\":151,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/news\/198581\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/mikhalok_wiki.jpg\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/news\/198581\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/news\/198581\/\",\"name\":\"Exiled rocker Siarhiej Micha\u0142ok tried in his absence, sentenced to four years | Pozirk\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/news\/198581\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/news\/198581\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/mikhalok_wiki.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-08-04T14:07:29+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-08-04T14:07:31+00:00\",\"description\":\"August 4, Pozirk. 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