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POZIRK+Minsk, Moscow brandish "truth axe"
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Viasna: politically-motivated criminal cases up 16 percent in July
August 19, Pozirk. At least 134 men and 36 women were convicted in politically-motivated criminal cases last month, says a recent report by the Viasna Human Rights Center.
Convictions rose by 16.4 percent in July, with 78 people sentenced in Minsk alone, it noted.
About 60 percent of all documented cases featured violent disorder charges that Belarusian authorities use to persecute participants in 2020 postelection protests, their families and close relatives, Viasna said.
Two journalists, Jaŭhien Hłuškoŭ and Alaksandar Sabaleŭski, were given prison terms on extremism-related charges.
At least 28 people were sentenced in absentia as the Belarusian judiciary kept filing charges against exiled opponents of Alaksandar Łukašenka.
Authorities keep intimidating regime critics by subjecting former political prisoners to new trials, rights defenders said, noting at least eight similar cases last month.
As of August 19, human rights defenders identified at least 1,375 political prisoners but the real number is considerably higher because many cases go undocumented.
Belarusian authorities have arrested about 65,000 people for political reasons in the four years since the August 2020 presidential election, Viasna reported in early August.
International humanitarian fund focuses on reprisal victims in Belarus – politician
August 19, Pozirk. The international humanitarian fund set up by the opposition leader Śviatłana Cichanoŭskaja will prioritize support to victims of politically-motivated persecution who remain in Belarus, her press office reported, citing her aide Franak Viačorka. The fund will help …
