The musicians of the Litesound group – Dmitry and Vladimir Karyakin – were included in the list of citizens “engaged in extremist activities” in Belarus. The parents of the brothers, Yuri Karyakin and Olga Kraiko, also participated in it. The local internet portal Zerkalo.io writes that this list is updated every Friday by the Belarusian Ministry of Internal Affairs.
The Karyakin family was added to the list of extremists a few months after being found guilty under Part 1 of Art. 342 of the Criminal Code of the Republic of Belarus (“Organization and preparation of acts of gross violation of public order or active participation in them”) and Part 2 of Art. 295 of the Criminal Code of the Republic of Belarus (“Illegal acts related to firearms, ammunition and explosives”). Later, the musicians and their mother were sentenced to two and a half years without being sent to a reformatory, and their father was sentenced to three years in a temporary detention facility. In the colony, Yuri Karyakin suffered a stroke, after which he was at home.
A criminal case was opened against the Karyakins in October 2022, after a search by security forces in which the family found photos from the 2020 Belarusian marches. Some sources wrote that there was also “a small arsenal of unregistered weapons and ammunition” in the house.
Dmitry and Vladimir Karyakin formed the rock band Litesound in 2005. In 2012, the team passed the national selection for the Eurovision Song Contest and as a result took 15th place out of 18 without reaching the final. The group performed the song “We Are the Heroes”.
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