Update on arrests, trials, politically-motivated persecution

June 7, BPN. New cases of politically-motivated persecution were documented in Belarus on June 6 with most common charges being participation in protests and insulting officials.

Arrested and released

Police arrested Volha Miniankova, a choir director at Belarusian State University, for her refusal to perform in Donbas in 2022, a pro-government source said. It remains unclear whether she has been charged.

A Minsk resident was arrested for filming movements of Russian military equipment and sharing the videos on social media, a pro-government source said.

Dźmitryj Karaloŭ who administered a local Telegram chat in the Minsk district is also under arrest. In a police video, he admitted to participating in 2020 protests.

Police arrested human rights defender Aleh Mackievič in Barysaŭ, Minsk region, but have not disclosed the reason, MAYDAY TEAM reported. He had been briefly detained in July 2021 and January 2022.

In April, authorities released Viktar Rysinski after he had served one year in prison on charges of abusing state symbols, the Viasna Human Rights Center reported.

Criminal proceedings

The Minsk City Court sentenced opposition activist Jana Pinčuk to 12 years in prison on terrorism-related charges following her extradition from Russia to Belarus, Viasna said. She was also fined 3,700 rubels (over $1,260).

Aksana Łakoza from Baraŭlany, Minsk region, and Aleh Jahorankaŭ from Mahiloŭ were given 18 months in prison each on charges of participating in 2020 protests and insulting Alaksandr Łukašenka, respectively, Viasna reported.

A judge in Hrodna sentenced engineer Andrej Navasialčan to two years in prison in early February, according to Viasna. The man volunteered as an independent observer in the 2020 presidential election and was accused of gross violation of public order and insulting public officials and Łukašenka. 

Belarusian judges imposed a total of 51 criminal convictions in May, sentencing 34 men and 17 women, Viasna said.

Extremist content update

Authorities blacklisted several opposition Telegram channels and chats as extremist content, including the Komitet Sprotivu/Resistance Committee, Free Belarus Center UA and Belarus Odnoy Strokoy. Other additions also feature social media accounts of Biełaruskaja Turma project monitoring the situation in Belarusian prisons and YouTube videos about the Kastuś Kalinoŭski Regiment of Belarusian volunteers fighting Russia in Ukraine.

The website of the Belarusian railway workers’ community was also branded extremist content at the Prosecutor General’s request.

Other instances of persecution

Jailed Arciom Łatyšaŭ, sentenced to four and a half years in prison, was placed in a punishment cell at Penal Colony No 2 in Babrujsk, Mahiloŭ region, for the fourth consecutive time, MAYDAY TEAM reported. Earlier, he spent 30 days in solitary confinement.

All employees of the Navapołack Central City Hospital in the Viciebsk region arrested in a large police raid on May 17 were fired for not showing up for work while in jail, BPN reported. The raid reportedly was linked to a leak about the hospitalization of former presidential hopeful Viktar Babaryka with a collapsed lung and signs of beating.

Jailed journalist Ksienija Łuckina’s health deteriorated in custody and she has suffered fainting spells, Viasna said. She was diagnosed with cancer and is currently serving an eight-year prison term on charges widely seen as politically motivated.

The Hrodna Regional Court will decide on the closure of the Kreva Castle charitable foundation on June 16, Hrodna.life reported. For the past 18 years, the foundation has been preserving the historical heritage of Kreva, Hrodna region.

As of June 7, human rights defenders identified at least 1,498 political prisoners but the real number is considerably higher because many cases go undocumented. Opposition sources estimate the number of political prisoners at around 5,000.