Interior ministry brands 20 as extremists

April 29, BPN. The Ministry of Internal Affairs added 20 more names to the list of people it says are involved in extremism, bringing the total to 2,755.

It blacklisted former presidential candidate Valer Capkała, 58, who was sentenced to 17 years in absentia this month.

It also labeled as extremists the political prisoners Jaŭhien Papakul, 28, sentenced to one year in prison for participating in protest marches in August-October 2020, and Uładzimir Bućkaviec, 32, sentenced to three years of restricted freedom for administering a patriotic social media community.

Last year, the regime branded the community advocating for Belarusian as the only official language as an extremist group.

New additions include the “rail partisans” from Mazyr, Homiel region. In a closed-door trial in February, a court sentenced Siarhiej Plaškun, 35, to 16 years, and Juryj Sielvič, 45, to 14 years. Like Papakul and Bućkaviec, they were declared political prisoners by human rights defenders.

Sabotage on Belarusian railways began shortly after Russia invaded Ukraine from Belarusian territory in February 2022. Rail partisans were damaging relay cabinets automating the movement of trains. Some were brutally arrested and have received long prison sentences.

Separately, the ministry targeted Minsk resident Juryj Mašok, 59, and his daughter Valeryja Mašok, 23. According to the human rights group Dissidentby, both were sentenced to two years in prison for protesting.

Mašok is the oldest of those blacklisted yesterday. The youngest, Minsk resident Mikita Sajidaŭ, turned 20 in early April. The young man is serving a sentence for public order offenses and drug trafficking.