Jailed anarchist leader charged with disobedience days before release

April 1, Pozirk. Authorities have accused jailed opposition politician Mikałaj Dziadok of disobeying the prison administration days before his scheduled release this month, a Telegram channel monitoring his persecution said.

The authorities routinely use the charge to keep prominent critics behind bars longer.

Dziadok, at the end of his five-year prison term, was transferred to a pre-trial detention center in Kaladzičy just outside Minsk pending a new trial.

Security forces arrested Dziadok, an anarchist leader whose Telegram channel was very influential during the postelection protests, in November 2020 in the Mahiloŭ region’s Asipovičy district. The activist was severely beaten and pepper sprayed during the arrest. He was found guilty on protest-related charges a year later.

Dziadok told the court that after his arrest that police “beat him, used a stun gun and threatened with rape,” demanding Telegram channels’ passwords and administrators’ identities. His associates say that he was ill-treated the following years behind bars.

Human rights groups say Dziadok’s persecution is politically motivated.

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