May 25, BPN. New arrests and trials of opposition supporters were reported in Belarus on May 24 as authorities seek to punish any manifestations of dissent.
Arrests
Jelisiej Kuźniacoŭ is one of the students arrested on May 23 in Vysokaje, Brest region, for allegedly abusing state symbols, the Brest branch of the Viasna Human Rights Center reported. In 2020, authorities sentenced Kuźniacoŭ, aged 16 at the time, to two and a half years of restricted freedom in home confinement on politically-motivated charges.
Police arrested a married couple for following opposition Telegram channels, a pro-government source said. The woman is a Ukrainian national and may be deported. She had been arrested on charges of violating the order of holding mass events.
Artur Bartaševič and his wife Marharyta were arrested in Karobčycy, Hrodna region, MAYDAY.TEAM reported. Authorities have not disclosed the charges against them.
Trials
A district judge in Navapołack, Viciebsk region, sentenced university professors Halina Šarahłazava and Alena Chramcova to 10 days in jail for allegedly sharing opposition content, BPN reported.
Belarusian Dźmitryj Hałaŭloŭ was jailed for 10 days in Moscow for launching antiwar balloons, Mediazona reported. The whereabouts of his wife Julija arrested together with him remain unknown. The couple has minor children.
Criminal proceedings
The Homiel Regional Court sentenced lawyer and entrepreneur Dźmitryj Bahačenka to two years in prison for allegedly inciting hatred, Viasna said.
Detention conditions
Jailed Uładzimir Haroch, sentenced to seven years in a high-security penal colony on charges of organizing riots and insulting Alaksandr Łukašenka, was transferred to Mahiloŭ Prison No 4, according to Viasna.
Other instances of persecution
Former political prisoner Dźmitryj Abramuk left Belarus after serving in full the cumulative three-year restricted freedom sentence, Viasna reported. In 2020, authorities persecuted him for participating in 2020 protests in Brest and later, for allegedly insulting Łukašenka. He was transferred from an open-type correctional facility to a prison for over 13 months for alleged violation of detention conditions.
Belarusian State University’s Department of Law posted a video on its Instagram page where a third-year student admits to sharing information discrediting the department and the official youth union. It remains unclear whether the student was arrested and what he is accused of.
A court in Moscow adjourned the hearing in Sofia Sapega’s case until June 1, after her defense asked to move the hearing on her transfer from Belarus to Russia to Vladivostok, TASS reported. Belarusian authorities sentenced her to six years in prison for inciting hatred and distributing the personal data of Łukašenka’s supporters.
Police officers visited the Homiel-based journalist Anatol Hatoŭčyc to check whether he follows any opposition Telegram channels, the Belarusian Association of Journalists (BAJ) reported. They had confiscated his electronic devices during earlier visits.
Anatol Vajciachoŭski, a businessman and founder of the Baranavičy-based advertising newspaper Shag (Step), left Belarus, the BySol Foundation reported. In early April, he was arrested and reportedly accused of gross violations of public order.
As of May 25, human rights defenders identified at least 1,516 political prisoners but their real number is significantly higher because many incidents are not documented by human rights defenders. Opposition leaders say at least 5,000 imprisoned on political grounds.
Authorization
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