The political situation in the country, terror and repression led to the fact that the Ministry of Internal Affairs increased the number of criminal cases related to drugs and article 328. In January-June 2021, the Ministry of Internal Affairs initiated 22.3 per cent more criminal cases under Article 328. In the first half of 2021, 848 people were convicted under Article 328. The number of criminal cases involving children increased by 17.9 per cent. Taking advantage of the lack of public attention to the topic of children-328, the Ministry of Internal Affairs began to imprison children even more in fabricated criminal cases. It is a very worrying trend.

We would like to give examples of the police conveyor about children-328, which remains in the absolute zone of inattention on the part of society.

March 2021

• On March 4, a minor student was tried in Minsk. He was accused of acquiring hashish. He was sentenced to two years of restriction of freedom. His mobile phone was also confiscated.
• On March 16, two underage boys were tried in Minsk. Both were charged under part 3 of Article 328 of the Criminal Code and sentenced to 7 years in prison for illegally acquiring, storing, transporting especially dangerous psychotropic substances on a large scale, committed by a group of persons.
• On March 24, two girls aged 16 and 17 were detained in Vitebsk. According to the police, both girls were actively involved in the distribution of drugs. The suspects got arrested and placed in a pre-trial detention centre. Investigators opened criminal cases against them under Article 328 of the Criminal Code.

May 2021

• On May 7, a 17-year-old college student was sentenced in Minsk. He was found guilty of illegal acquisition, storage, transportation for sale, committed by several persons concerning particularly dangerous psychotropic substances on a large scale. According to part 3 of article 328, he was sentenced to 7 years in prison.

June 2021

• On June 25, two guys were tried in Minsk, one of whom was a minor. Both were charged under part 4 of Article 328 of the Criminal Code. The minor defendant was sentenced to 6 years in prison.

July 2021

• On July 1, a trial of two minors was held in Brest. They were accused under part 4 of Article 328 of the Criminal Code. They were found guilty, and mobile phones were confiscated from each of them. Both were sentenced to 10 years in prison.
• On July 12, two minors were tried in Minsk. They were charged under part 3 of Article 328 of the Criminal Code. One of the teenagers got six years in prison, the other – seven years.
• On July 23, a criminal case was considered in Krichev against a group of young people, three of whom were minors. They were found guilty of illegal acquisition, storage, transportation of psychotropic substances for sale, committed by a group of persons, concerning particularly dangerous psychotropic substances on a large scale. One boy was sentenced to 7 years in prison, two – to 6 years.

August 2021

• On August 12, a 17-year-old student of one of the city’s colleges was tried in Vitebsk. She was accused under part 4 of Article 328, but the girl partially admitted her guilt. She was sentenced to 10 years in prison.

September 2021

• On September 17, a trial of a teenager born in 2004 was held in Minsk. He was accused of acquiring 60.06 grams of para-methylephedrone. The teenager pleaded guilty to the crime charged against him. He was sentenced to 6 years in prison.
• On September 27, a minor guy and his friend got tried in a closed court session in Polotsk. He was found guilty under part 4 of Article 328. He was sentenced to imprisonment for 10 years without a fine with serving his sentence in an educational colony.
• On September 28, a 17-year-old teenager was sentenced in Mozyr, who decided to earn extra money by distributing drugs. He was charged under part 4 of Article 328 of the Criminal Code. The teenager was sentenced to 10 years in prison.

November 2021

• On November 1, two 17-year-old residents were sentenced to imprisonment in Brest. The young people did not admit their guilt under part 4 of Article 328 of the Criminal Code and said that one had purchased psychotropic substances for personal consumption, and the second was not involved in this. Both were sentenced to 10 years in prison.
• On November 4, it became known about a new sentence against minors from Mogilev. From August to November 2020, two underage girls of 16, a guy of 17 and a girl of 18 years were engaged in drug distribution. They were tried under part 3 of Article 328 of the Criminal Code. They received from 6 to 8 years in prison.
• On November 10, two schoolgirls were detained in Minsk under Article 328, a 15-year-old girl and a 17-year-old girl.
• On November 11, a minor was tried in Novopolotsk under part 4 of Article 328 of the Criminal Code. He was found guilty of illegal acquisition and large-scale storage of especially dangerous psychotropic substances committed by an organized group for sale. The teenager was sentenced to 10 years in prison.
• On November 16, 8 children were detained in Minsk and Mogilev regions under Article 328.
• On November 16, a 15-year-old teenager and a 16-year-old girl were detained in Vitebsk under Article 328.
• On November 24, a case was considered in Minsk against two minors who were accused of organizing a criminal group that sold drugs. Each of them got sentenced to 10 years in prison.

December 2021

• On December 1, two minors were convicted in Soligorsk, accused under parts 1 and 3 of Article 328. The teenagers were sentenced to 6 years in prison.
• On December 8, a 16-year-old teenager was detained in Borisov. He was accused of distributing drugs. According to the investigation, he and his 21-year-old girlfriend were couriers of an online drug store. They were engaged in drug distribution. A criminal case was opened against the teenager under part 3 of Article 328.
• On December 10, a trial of three 15-year-old girls under article 328 began in Gomel.
• On December 15, a minor was tried in Vitebsk. He got accused under part 4 of Article 328 and sentenced to 10 years in prison. His mobile phone was confiscated.
• On December 23, a trial of a group of young people, including three minors, began in Minsk. They were charged under part 4 of Article 328 of the Criminal Code. The minor defendants received ten years in prison.
• On December 28, two 17-year-old boys were tried in Grodno. Both got accused of committing a crime under Part 3 of Article 328 of the Criminal Code. One of them was charged with selling alpha PVP weighing at least 0.4888 grams. The other got accused of buying a psychotropic substance. Both were sentenced to 6 years in prison.
• On December 29, seven children were convicted under article 328 in Zhlobin. Of these, six girls and one boy. Two girls received 11 years, the rest 6. Terms over ten years are prohibited by the Convention on the Rights of the Child in Belarus. But the regime ignores the Convention.
• On December 29, in Gomel, security forces arrested a 17-year-old student of the Pribor State Professional Agrarian and Technical Lyceum right in the assembly hall of the police department of the Soviet district executive Committee of the regional centre in front of friends and classmates. Police officers invited everyone to the police department allegedly for prevention. And 70 teenagers looked at the rights of the child violation by police officers. The detention was without a lawyer. The boy was immediately handcuffed (which is prohibited by the Convention on the Rights of the Child). He was not provided with a lawyer, and, as usual, nobody told his parents about the detention. The child was immediately placed in a pre-trial detention centre. It is also a gross violation of the rights of the child and the Convention.

January 2022

• On January 3, the case of a 16-year-old student of one of the colleges of Novopolotsk got considered in Vitebsk. He was charged under part 4 of article 328 and sentenced to 10 years in prison.
• On January 6, a trial was held in Minsk against an 18-year-old and a 17-year-old boy. They were charged under part 3 of Article 328 of the Criminal Code. The 17-year-old defendant was sentenced to 6 years in prison.
• On January 11, a minor student of the 11th grade of Vitebsk school was convicted in the Vitebsk district under part 1 of Article 328 of the Criminal Code. He was accused of purchasing 1.53 grams of marijuana in an online store for consumption. He was assigned compulsory measures of an educational nature with restrictions of freedom of leisure for six months.

Unfortunately, many teenagers still face prison through the government fault for many years. Children aged 16-18 easily become bait for drug dealers who want to involve as many couriers as possible in the network. But only children get huge terms in comparison with adults and end up in prison for 6, 8, 10 or more years. Drug dealers remain free.