Tor band musicians sentenced to a total of 24.5 years in prison

Tor band musicians were sentenced to a total of 24.5 years in an reinforced regime colony, reported human rights activists. Dzmitry Halavach received 9 years in prison, Yauhen Burlo - 8 years, Andrei Yaremchyk - 7.5 years. All of them were sentenced to a reinforced regime colony. The musicians were also fined 3,700 rubles each. A laptop and mobile phones were confiscated.

The political prisoners have been on trial in closed session in Homiel since September. The musicians, whose songs became a symbol of protest in 2020, were accused of "incitement to hostility", "creation of or participation in an extremist formation", "discrediting the Republic of Belarus" and "insulting Lukashenka".

Yauhen Burlo was on crutches and couldn't even stand up when the verdict was announced. Judge Siarhey Salouski allowed the musician to hear the verdict sitting down. "His health is very bad. Now he is also being examined for oncology," writes @radiosvaboda, adding that Burlo needs surgery on his spine.

The musicians of Tor band were arrested in October 2022 in Rahachou. Later, Burlo, Halavach and Yaremchyk were tried several times in a row under administrative protocols, then a criminal case was opened and they were transferred to Homiel pre-trial detention center. They were recognized as political prisoners.

This year the Tor band was recognized as an "extremist formation" in Belarus, its social networks, songs and clips are also considered "extremist" by the regime of Aliaksandr Lukashenka. The clips of the Tor band songs "We are not a "small people", "Long  Live", "Who else but you?!" have received more than one million views on YouTube.