Update on arrests, trials, politically-motivated persecution

June 13, BPN. New cases of politically-motivated persecution were documented in Belarus on June 12 as authorities jailed local TV journalists in the Homiel region and punished people for displaying the Pahonia coat of arms.

Arrests

Viciebsk police arrested six persons for online comments and following opposition content, a pro-government source said. In a police video, one of the arrested admitted to having a mug with the Pahonia coat of arms at her office.

The father of jailed Uładzisłaŭ Łahucienka was arrested in Russia presumably in connection with the 2020 protests in Belarus, MAYDAY TEAM reported.

A transgender woman T., assaulted by a passerby on June 9, is under arrest in Minsk for allegedly wearing a small rainbow flag and a flag of Ukraine on her backpack, Tg House reported.

Trials

Employees of Ranak TV, a TV station based in the Homiel region, went on trial in Svietłahorsk on charges of sharing opposition content, the Homiel branch of the Viasna Human Rights Center reported. Andrej Lipski, Pavieł Rabko, Vadzim Viežnaviec and Uładzimir Papoŭ were jailed for seven days while Maryna Byčkoŭskaja, Alena Kisialova and Kryścina Kazelkova were fined 925 rubels (over $300). Authorities released a pregnant woman and another one with a disability.

A judge in Mahiloŭ fined human rights defender Alaksandr Chamrataŭ 925 rubels and confiscated his smartphone for allegedly sharing opposition content, Mediazona reported.

On May 24, a court in Brest fined a local resident 1,110 rubels (some $375) for a Pahonia tattoo.

Another man who refused to remove tattoos that authorities deem extremist was jailed, a pro-government Telegram channel said.

A nurse was jailed in Hłybokaje, Viciebsk region, for 12 days for a Pahonia image on her smartphone, the Viciebsk branch of Viasna said.

Criminal proceedings

The Supreme Court will examine an appeal by jailed journalist Hienadź Mažejka on June 16, BPN reported. In late March, he was given three years in prison on charges of inciting hatred and insulting Alaksandr Łukašenka. Mažejka had spent 18 months in custody before the verdict was announced.

Extremist list update

On June 9, the interior ministry declared the independent news website Zerkalo and its social media an extremist group, BPN reported.

On the same day, it also blacklisted nine persons as extremists, taking their total to 2,901. Additions include Dźmitryj Siemčanka, a former journalist with the state-run ONT TV channel, and Russian national Alexander Khomchenko, sentenced to a year in prison for allegedly insulting Łukašenka.

Other instances of persecution

Prosecutors in the Brest region restricted access to flirck.com, citing alleged violations of media law, Viasna reported. Most likely, they referred to Flickr.com photo hosting site which is still available for Belarusian users.

Last week, security officers visited the home of activist Siarhiej Hirkin and questioned his brother about his whereabouts and current occupation, Viasna reported. Hirkin has not been living in Belarus for five years. He links the police interest to his social media activities.

Human rights defender Illa Mironaŭ who recently left Belarus fearing politically-motivated persecution is currently staying in Lithuania, BPN reported.

As of June 13, human rights defenders identified at least 1,493 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.