Update on trials, politically-motivated persecution

April 10, BPN. New cases of politically-motivated persecution were documented in Belarus on April 8 and 9.

Trials

A court in the Viciebsk region fined Kaciaryna Pałtarackaja 925 rubels (over $310) for sharing opposition content on social media, the Viciebsk branch of the Viasna Human Rights Center reported.

Criminal proceedings

A court in Hrodna sentenced former customs officer Mikałaj Kulašoŭ to five years in prison on several charges, including the illegal crossing of the border and participating in an extremist group, Viasna said. Police arrested him in September 2022 during an attempt to cross the Belarusian-Lithuanian border together with Anita Bakunovič, who was given three and a half years in prison on similar charges. Jahor Kurzin, tried in the same case, was given three years in prison.

Other instances of persecution

Połack museum researcher Ihar Bortnik has been charged with violating the order of holding mass events, BPN reported. He remains in custody after spending 10 days in jail for sharing opposition content.

The local Іnfa-Kurjer newspaper from Słuck, Minsk region, announced that it is discontinuing the issue of its printed and electronic version after authorities declared its content “extremist.”

Dźmitryj Hopta, 23, a resident of Žłobin, Homiel region, and his mother fled Belarus, volunteer Illa Mironaŭ said on Facebook. Hopta has a mental disability and was released from prison in late December 2022 where he had spent two years over protests.

As of April 10, human rights defenders identified at least 1,487 political prisoners.