Update on arrests, politically-motivated persecution

June 5, BPN. New cases of politically-motivated persecution were documented in Belarus on June 3 and 4 as prominent political prisoners are still held in isolation.

Arrested and released

Police arrested two persons in Lida and Vaŭkavysk, Hrodna region, for allegedly signing up to the opposition Pieramoha Plan, a pro-government source said.

Authorities released Iryna Harašyna who had served a two-year prison term on charges widely seen as politically motivated, the Viasna Human Rights Center reported.

Extremist list update

The interior ministry declared followers of the 97% Serebryanka Telegram channel an extremist group. A district court in Minsk blacklisted the channel’s content as extremist in July 2021.

Other instances of persecution

Jailed Andrej Hierasimovič, currently serving a two-and-a-half-year term at the penal colony in Babrujsk, Mahiloŭ region, was transferred to the facility’s internal prison after spending two months in a punishment cell, Viasna said.

Prominent regime critic Maryja Kaleśnikava has been behind bars for 1,000 days. Last November, she was hospitalized in Homiel in a serious condition with a perforated ulcer. She is currently serving an 11-year prison term on charges widely seen as politically motivated. Human rights defenders and her loved ones have not received any news from her for more than three months.

Four inspectors from the Viciebsk region’s department of justice did not find any irregularities at Penal Colony No 1 in Navapołack where 94 political prisoners are held, Viasna reported. The colony is notorious among inmates for harsh conditions.

As of June 5, human rights defenders identified at least 1,513 political prisoners but the real number is considerably higher because many cases go undocumented. Opposition sources estimate their number at around 5,000.