Belarus ads seven to terrorist list of more than 1,000

May 19, BPN. Belarusian authorities have added seven more people to a list of “persons involved in terrorist activities,” including a mother and daughter who were sentenced to prison for sharing data with an opposition project.

The Committee for State Security (KGB) updated the list on its website yesterday. The new additions included Ina Hlinskaja and her daughter Valeryja Hlinskaja, who worked at a bank and were convicted of illegally handling personal data and sharing it with Black Book of Belarus, an online platform that exposes security officials.

Human rights groups have recognized them as political prisoners and condemned their sentences of seven and six-and-a-half years respectively.

The list also included Artur Chłus, a medical student and paramedic who was arrested for signing up for an opposition plan to oust authoritarian leader Alaksandr Łukašenka and taking part in protests. He faces charges of rioting.

Another person on the list was Hleb Hładkoŭski, a drone cinematographer who was sentenced to five years in prison for posting online comments that authorities deemed insulting and inciting hatred. He has two children.

The others were Vasil Jermakoŭ, a former bank employee who was also convicted of sharing data with Black Book of Belarus, and Siarhiej Botvič and Alaksandr Paściarniak, who were accused of participating in riots.

Belarus was rocked by months of protests after Łukašenka’s disputed reelection in 2020. The regime cracked down hard on protesters, often using extremism and counter-terrorism legislation to silence them. Last year, it declared the opposition’s exiled “transitional cabinet” an extremist group.