Update on trials, politically-motivated persecution

June 26, BPN. New cases of politically-motivated persecution were documented in Belarus on June 24 and 25 with trials targeting more dissenters.

Trials

A judge in Rudziensk, Minsk region, jailed former political prisoner Uładzimir Kondruś for 15 days for sharing opposition content, Belsat TV reported.

Aleh Nieściarovič is in jail for seven days in Rasony, Viciebsk region, for following opposition videos, the Viasna Human Rights Center reported.

Criminal proceedings

A court in Minsk sentenced Taćciana Jankoŭskaja to two and a half years of restricted freedom in home confinement for participation in protests, Viasna reported.

Other instances of persecution

Natalla Karniejeva and the Irdorath band musicians, Nadzieja and Uładzimir Kałač, left Belarus after spending time in jail on politically-motivated charges, according to Viasna.

Authorities transferred former state TV journalist Dźmitryj Siemčanka to Penal Colony No 22 in Ivacevičy, Brest region. He is currently serving a three-year prison term on charges widely seen as politically motivated, Viasna reported.

Jailed opposition activist Palina Šarenda-Panasiuk, serving a similar prison term, was taken to Minsk Detention Center No. 1 for a psychiatric check-up, Viasna said.

As of June 26, human rights defenders identified at least 1,496 political prisoners but the real number is considerably higher because many cases go undocumented. Opposition sources estimate the real number may be as high as 5,000.