A court in Minsk sentenced lawyer Alexander Danilevich, a specialist in international arbitration, to 10 years in prison. Lawyer Dmitry Laevsky announced this on his Telegram channel, noting that his colleague was actually convicted “for legal assistance and an interview.”
Danilevich was accused of complicity in calls for sanctions (part 6 of article 16 and part 3 of article 361 of the Criminal Code of Belarus), because of the letters and documents that he compiled due to professional duties. In particular, we are talking about letters to the Norwegian company Yara, which purchased the products of Belaruskali OJSC, but stopped doing so after the imposition of sanctions. In addition, the lawyer, according to the investigation, helped the Belarusian swimmer Alexandra Gerasimena and the executive director of the Sports Solidarity Fund Alexander Opeikin draw up appeals to the International Olympic Committee (IOC). Gerasimenya and Opeikin were sentenced in absentia to 12 years in prison last year.
Danilevich was also accused of promoting extremism (part 1 of article 361-4 of the Criminal Code of Belarus) for an interview with Tribuna. According to Laevsky, the file consists of only five volumes, containing mainly KGB reports and printouts of correspondence not related to the prosecution.
“Firstly, this is a case about the final burial of the guarantees of advocacy. <…> Secondly, this is a case of criminal prosecution of a lawyer for providing legal assistance to people. <…> Thirdly, this is a case about the persecution of a lawyer for words – an interview on legal issues, ” writes Laevsky.
Danilevich has been in custody since May 2022. Previously, he was fired from the Belarusian State University, where he taught at the Faculty of International Relations, for signing an appeal condemning Russia's invasion of Ukraine.