New jail sentence in crackdown on museum workers in Połack

April 10, BPN. A court in Navapołack, Viсiebsk region, has sentenced Ihar Bortnik, PhD, a staff member of Połack’s history and culture museum, to 13 more days in jail.

He was charged with violating the procedure for holding mass events, a well-informed source told BPN.

The conviction is related to his 2019 social media posts. Guards refused to accept a parcel Bortnik’s mother packed up for him.

On April 8, Bortnik was left in jail after his 10-day term for dissemination of “extremist” content came to an end.

His home was reportedly raided and vandalized by the interior ministry’s organized crime unit GUBOPiK.

Bortnik was arrested at his workplace on March 29.

On March 29 and 30, law enforcers arrested more than 10 residents of Połack and Navapołack, including the museum’s former director Tamara Džumantajeva and photographers Ihar Supranionak and Kirył Smalakoŭ. They were sentenced to 15 days in jail for “extremist” content.

Other employees of the museum, namely Aksana Šafran, Aksana Kozieł, Volha Filimonava, Viktoryja Babko, Nadzieja Jaźmier and Alena Chodzikava, were also arrested. Some of them were forced to part with their equipment and freed only to stand trial at a later date. Preliminary reports suggest that the citizens are charged over undesirable comments and likes on social media.