human rights defender

Hanna Ablab

Actions and Campaigns

Organization affiliation

  • Rabochy Rukh (Workers movement) labour rights group

HRD's year of birth

1978

HRD's Gender

Woman

Type of HRD

  • Trade union leader

HRD's thematic area of engagement

  • Labour rights

HRD's geographical origin

Urban

Current Status

In prison (sentenced)

HRD's bio and work

Hanna worked as a leading engineer at the department of train schedule development in the administration of the Belarusian Railway in Minsk.

She was arrested on September 22, 2021, as part of a criminal investigation for 'high treason' involving several employees of Belarusian factories who supported local strikes in 2020 and were members of the Rabochy Rukh labor rights group. On September 21, 2021, Rabochy Rukh was labeled as an ""extremist"" initiative, a decision that sparked the arrests of many workers across the country. In addition, Hanna was charged with defamation and with the creation of and participation in an extremist formation.

At the trial, all the defendants refused to plead guilty to treason and creating an extremist formation. They also refused to testify.

Hanna has three children, two of whom are minors.

Detained since

Sep 22, 2021

Charge(s)

  • Extremism
  • Treason

Sentence

11 years

Geolocation of detention

Country or area of detention

Region of detention

  • Europe: Eastern Europe

Location of detention - City/Town

Homieĺ

Location of detention - Facility

Penal colony No. 4. 246035, Homieĺ, vulica Antoshkina 3

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