Anarchists’ case lawyers arrested – unconfirmed

September 13, BPN. Lawyers who defended suspects in the “anarchists’ case” and volunteers of the Viasna Human Rights center have been arrested, a police-linked Telegram channel reported.

It quotes the interior ministry’s organized crime unit GUBOPiK as claiming that there was a link between online leaks of law enforcers’ personal data and investigative actions involving specific lawyers in the anarchists’ case.

The lawyers, who have not been identified, have been charged with disclosing details of preliminary investigation. It is unclear how many lawyers have been arrested.

The Minsk City Court on September 6 imposed lengthy prison sentences on two human rights defenders and eight anarchist activists. Viasna’s coordinator Marfa Rabkova was sentenced to 15 years in prison, and its volunteer Andrej Čapiuk to six.

Rights groups called their persecution politically motivated.

Over 50 Belarusian lawyers have lost their licenses since August 2020. Some of those who defended protesters have been detained.