Pahonia Regiment’s social media, Valer Capkała’s pages blacklisted as extremist

October 28, BPN. The interior ministry blacklisted the content of Telegram and Facebook pages of the Pahonia Regiment of Belarusian volunteers fighting Russia in Ukraine as “extremist,” adding corresponding entries to the list of extremist groups on its website on October 20.

The Pahonia Regiment was said to be founded in March 2022 by Valer Sachaščyk, a former commander of the 38th Brest Air Assault Brigade turned the opposition’s security chief.

The ministry has also blacklisted a number of websites and social media pages linked to the former presidential hopeful Valer Capkała who left Belarus in 2020 for fear of criminal persecution.  

In late September, the Investigative Committee announced that case files against Capkała were ready for the so-called special proceedings that allow trials in absentia, targeting activists who live abroad and evade contact with investigators.