OREANDA-NEWS. The Minsk City Court has handed down a guilty verdict in a criminal case against the famous blogger Eduard Palchys. Judge Pyotr Orlov on Friday, December 17, found Palchis guilty on all counts and sentenced him to 13 years in prison in a colony.

The trial of the blogger was held behind closed doors, «in order to prevent the spread of extremist materials», the human rights center «Viasna» reports. Palchys was charged under four articles of the Criminal Code: inciting social hostility (Article 130 of the Criminal Code), organizing mass riots (Article 293 of the Criminal Code), organizing actions that grossly violate public order (Article 342 of the Criminal Code), calls for actions aimed at harming the national security of the Republic of Belarus (Article 361 of the Criminal Code).

The author of the Telegram channel Palchys and the Youtube channel of the same name, Eduard Paltis, was detained in September 2020 and sentenced to 30 days of administrative arrest. After that, a criminal case was opened against him under the article on the organization of mass riots.

Belarusian human rights activists recognized Palchys as a political prisoner. During the time he is in custody, his daughter was born. On December 16, 2021, the girl turned one year old.