Yuri was first found guilty in July 2021 of a criminal offense under the article "insulting a government official." According to the charges, on January 12, 2021, he left an offensive comment under a photograph of police officer Anton Yanushkevich on the Telegram channel "Punishermen of Belarus." Furthermore, on March 5, 2021, Yuri left another offensive comment under a photograph of OMON commander Dmitry Balaba on the Telegram channel "Belarus of the Brain."
In November 2021, Yuri was convicted again of "insulting a government official" and sentenced to restricted freedom and placement in an open correctional facility. He began serving his sentence in March 2022.
In December 2022, Yuri was placed in pretrial detention on a new criminal case opened under three articles, including "violence or threat of violence against a law enforcement officer." On December 23 of that year, he was found guilty for the third time and finally sentenced to five years of restricted freedom.
He was released on March 20, 2026, as part of a pardon following a visit to Minsk by US President Donald Trump's special representative, John Cole, on March 19 (among a group of 235 prisoners left in Belarus).
