Journalist Ales Lyubenchuk was repeatedly sentenced to four years, but part of his previous "crime" was offset
Ales Lyubenchuk was first detained in May 2022 and, after some time, sentenced to three years, being released in January 2025. He was detained a second time on September 2, 2025, by GUBOP officers of the Hrodna region.
Lyubenchuk was accused a second time of "inciting hostility" (Art. 130 of the Criminal Code of Belarus) for negative comments addressed to the authorities and of "aiding extremist activities" (Art. 361-4 of the Criminal Code of Belarus) in the Hayun case, writes BAJ.
For the next 7 months, the journalist was held in the Hrodna pre-trial detention center.
The court process in Lyubenchuk's case took place in March 2026. The prosecution requested 4.5 years of imprisonment in a reinforced regime for Ales.
Judge Valery Shpak sentenced him to 4 years of imprisonment in a reinforced regime.
However, because the "crime" in the new case was committed approximately during the same period as the previous one, for which the journalist had already served a prison term, three years of the punishment already served under the previous sentence were offset (Part 5 of Art. 72 of the Criminal Code of Belarus — "Imposition of punishment for a set of crimes"). Thus, one year of punishment remained.
Time spent in the pre-trial detention center was counted as one day for one and a half. As a result, Lyubenchuk spent two weeks in the colony, part of which was in quarantine and part in a disciplinary isolation cell. He was never transferred to a squad because he was released upon expiry of the term in May.
On June 22, information emerged about Ales Lyubenchuk's inclusion in the KGB's "List of persons involved in terrorist activities." Inclusion in this list imposes very strict restrictions on a person.
The most painful consequences concern finances and the ability to lead a normal life. Thus, all bank accounts in Belarus are automatically blocked, and no payments can be made from them, not even receiving wages or pensions.
A person from this list can only withdraw a limited amount from the account (a base unit) per month for minimal needs.
Additionally, there may be problems with employment — employers may refuse to hire, as enterprises are prohibited from conducting financial operations involving such individuals.
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