Human rights defenders add nine to political prisoners’ list

January 19, BPN. Human rights defenders have added nine more people to the political prisoners’ list, taking their total to 1,444, the Viasna Human Rights Center reported.

New additions include people convicted of allegedly insulting Alaksandr Łukašenka: Dźmitryj Adaračkin, Andrej Kuprejeŭ (two years in prison each), Alaksandr Truš (18 months in prison), and Rusłan Krasaŭ (three years in prison; also accused of slander)

Human rights defenders also added Piotr Piatruša and Alaksandr Sinica, sentenced to 6 and 18 months in prison respectively on charges of damaging property, as well as Mikita Malar and Maksim Palanski (two years of restricted freedom in an open-type correctional facility for insulting a police officer).

Pravavaja Inicyjatyva, Belarusian PEN, and Lawtrend aligned themselves with Viasna’s statement and called for an immediate release of all political prisoners, an end to the political crackdown in Belarus and the removal of defamation articles from the Criminal Code.