Update on arrests, trials, politically-motivated persecution

January 5, BPN. New cases of politically-motivated persecution were documented in Belarus on January 4.

Arrests

Minsk police arrested IT professional Maksim Statkievič over his messages in a work chat, the Viasna Human Rights Center reported.

Police also arrested Jaŭhien Konanaŭ from Hrodna for allegedly sharing opposition content, said Sudy i Zaderzhaniya, Grodno i Oblast, a Telegram channel monitoring politically-motivated arrests in the Hrodna region.

Two teenagers, aged 13 and 15, are under arrest on charges of Nazi propaganda, inciting hatred against Russians and displaying protest symbols, pro-government sources said.

Criminal proceedings

Authorities sentenced Vital Jenarovič, 37, to two years in prison on two criminal charges, Viasna said. He has been in custody since March 2022 and has already served several shorter jail terms.

Darja Łosik, the wife of imprisoned blogger Ihar Łosik, will go on trial at the Brest Regional Court on January 18. Investigators accused her of giving an interview to Belsat, a television channel declared extremist, “in which she positioned herself as a political prisoner’s wife.”

Lawyer Vital Brahiniec faces four criminal charges and will go on trial on January 16 at the Minsk City Court, Viasna said. Earlier, he defended people accused in politically-motivated cases.

Extremist content

A court in Minsk blacklisted Telegram news aggregator Kod 375 with some 2,700 subscribers as extremist content, the Prosecutor General’s press office reported.

Political prisoners

Mikałaj Bredzieleŭ, ex-spokesman for the Austrian-co-owned A1 telecommunications company, currently serving a four-year prison term, was transferred the Baranavičy pre-trial detention center.

Other instances of persecution

Authorities arrested a total of 6,380 people on politically-motivated minor charges, Viasna said in its annual report.

As of January 5, human rights defenders identified at least 1,445 political prisoners.