Blogger convicted for online reaction to Lukashenko cartoon dies in Belarusian colony

Klimovich, 61, was imprisoned despite the fact that he had a serious heart condition. He was imprisoned in Vitebsk Penal Colony #3 for a little over two months before he died.

Klimovich was a blogger and civic activist from Pinsk.

On Feb. 28, a Pinsk court sentenced him to a year in prison under Article 368 of the Criminal Code — insulting the president of Belarus — for allegedly posting a satirical image of Lukashenko on social media.

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The post with the caricature of the Belarusian dictator appeared on Klimovich's Odnoklassniki page, as he had clicked the reaction "funny" under it. He claimed that he did not intend to distribute these cartoons, but had only laughed at them.

Klimovich had a group II disability due to cardiovascular disease, he had suffered a stroke and had undergone heart surgery.

Before his sentencing, he said that he might die in prison because he needed to take a large amount of powerful medications. “Any imprisonment for me is death, because I have to be under constant medical supervision, take a lot of strong medications. I may not last even a month,” Klimovich told reporters.

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Nevertheless, the Pinsk court sentenced him to imprisonment, and on April 21, the Brest Regional Court rejected the appeal and upheld the verdict. Soon after, 61-year-old Klimovich was transferred to Vitebsk Penal Colony #3, having been transported across Belarus.

In February 2023, Klimovich was also tried in an administrative case: he was fined 111 Belarusian rubles ($44) for "spreading Nazi symbols."

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Read the original article on The New Voice of Ukraine