The Minsk City Court has issued a verdict in absentia against stand-up comedian Vyacheslav Komissarenko, sentencing him to six years in prison for insulting and defaming the President of the Republic of Belarus, Alexander Lukashenko, reports the BelTA news agency.
According to information from the Investigative Committee of Belarus, a special proceeding against Komissarenko was initiated on August 15. The comedian faces charges under three articles of the Criminal Code: insult and defamation against the president (part 1 of article 130, part 2 of article 367) and inciting social hatred (part 1 of article 368 of the Criminal Code of the Republic of Belarus). The Investigative Committee emphasizes the necessity for the stand-up comedian to appear at the Central Department of the agency in Minsk, but specific reasons for initiating the case have not been disclosed.
Komissarenko has actively spoken out against the violence and brutality used by law enforcement against participants in the protests that began after the presidential elections in Belarus in 2020. In his performances, he has repeatedly joked about Alexander Lukashenko, even parodying him under the name "Chyk-Chyryk."
In 2021, he was officially banned from performing on the Belarusian stage, and in 2022, Komissarenko left Russia, where he had lived for several years, citing persecution by the Belarusian KGB.