Zlobin resident convicted for protests, although the statute of limitations should have expired. How is this possible?
Renat Pelageychik was 17 years old at the time of the protests.
Renat Pelageychik. Photo from his social media.
Renat Pelageychik was born on November 15, 2002. In 2019, he graduated from secondary school No. 13 in Zlobin. At just 18 years old, the young man decided to start a business: in February 2021, he registered as an individual entrepreneur in his hometown to engage in online retail.
According to social media data, after some time the young man moved to Russia. In 2024, he actively posted job advertisements on VKontakte. Renat was looking for Belarusians and Russians for rotational work in Moscow, St. Petersburg, and Smolensk, offering vacancies for loaders, packers, and general laborers.
He was 17 years old during the protests. The statute of limitations for his criminal case should have expired long ago. But there's a nuance. According to the Criminal Code, the statute of limitations is suspended if a person is hiding from law enforcement. It seems that the young Zlobin resident was on a wanted list all this time. Eventually, he was detained — possibly in Russia — but the circumstances are unknown. Pelageychik's name is now excluded from the Russian wanted list database, but it was there previously.
The Zlobin District Court found Pelageychik guilty under Part 1 of Article 342 of the Criminal Code — organization or active participation in actions that grossly violate public order. He was sentenced to home detention.