Update on arrests, trials, politically-motivated persecution

July 19, BPN. New cases of politically-motivated persecution were documented in Belarus on July 18.

Arrests

Investigators detained two Minskers and charged them with “repeatedly demonstrating in public places images glorifying Nazi atrocities,” the Investigative Committee said.

Law enforcers arrested Minsk resident Mikałaj Litvinaŭ for his comments on Telegram channels deemed “extremist,” Naša Niva reported.

Police-linked Telegram channels reported the arrest of Minsk resident Jaŭhien Ravucki. They posted a video of the man saying that he shared information with ByPol, a resistance group, participated in a protest, and shared extremist content.

Trials

A court sentenced Jaŭhien Zaščytaŭ, a political prisoner from Žłobin, Homiel region, to six more months for defying prison authorities’ orders, Viasna Homiel reported. He is already serving a three-and-a-half years’ sentence. He was arrested in November 2020 and found guilty of threatening violence against police.

The Minsk City Court considered behind closed doors changes to “the compulsory security and treatment measures” for Maryja Uspienskaja, according to its electronic timetable. The ruling has not been disclosed. Uspienskaja is the widow of IT professional Andrej Zielcer, who killed Committee for State Security (KGB) officer Dźmitryj Fiedasiuk in a shootout during a raid on the couple’s home. Uspienskaja was tried for complicity, placed in a psychiatric hospital and ordered to pay a hefty sum to Fiedasiuk’s wife.

A court in the Navahrudak district, Hrodna region, fined Roman Catholic priest Juryj Žeharyn for the distribution of “extremist content” after he had reposted a 2016 article about a local castle from Radyjo Svaboda, Novaje Žyćcio reported. The government outlawed the Belarusian Service of RFE/RL as “extremist content” after the 2020 disputed presidential election.

Hanna Hudoŭskaja of the House of Crafts in Biešankovičy, Viciebsk region, was fined for reposting a film about Alaksandar Łukašenka branded “extremist” in 2019, Viasna Viciebsk reported.

Authorities jailed a Minsker for 15 days after receiving a tip-off from locals, according to a police-linked Telegram channel. Law enforcers said they found “Nazi or extremist tattoos” on his body.

Extremism lists

July 18, the interior ministry declared social media of a Ukrainian blogger who often interviews Alaksandar Łukašenka’s opponents an extremist group. According to its website, it blacklisted a Telegram feed, a TikTok account, an online chat and a YouTube channel run by Alexander Rykov, also known as BalaganOFF.

Detention conditions

Political prisoner Uladzimir Hundar, serving a 20-year prison sentence for an alleged plot to overthrow the government, was placed twice in a punishment cell at Babrujsk’s Penal Colony No 2 in the Mahiloŭ region, Viasna reported. Hundar, whose leg had been amputated, was detained in December 2020.

Andrej Sačeŭka, a political prisoner from Hrodna with mental issues, has been held in a punishment cell at Penal Colony No 2 for 23 days and is to be placed in an internal prison, Mayday.Team reported. The man was arrested in May 2022, and is serving a six-year sentence.

Criminal cases

Authorities charged Uładzisłaŭ Bieładzied, a Roman Catholic seminarian, with inciting hatred. Pro-government Telegram channels disseminated a video of him saying that he supported the 2020 protests. Previously, Bieładzied had served a total of 45 days for sharing “extremist content.” On July 13 and 14, law enforcers searched the Minsk archcathedral’s administrative building where he lived, according to Chryścijanskaja Vizija, Mediazona and police-linked Telegram feeds.

Other incidents

The administration of Navapołack’s Penal Colony No 1 in the Viciebsk region informed the family of a former presidential hopeful, political prisoner Viktar Babaryka, that he is held at the colony’s internal prison, his team said. His whereabouts had been unknown since April 28.

The administration of Mazyr’s Penal Colony No 20 in the Homiel region banned inmates from receiving notebooks and pens in envelopes. Now a limited number of these items can be only delivered in parcels, Mayday.Team reported. In the same penal colony, all convicts are banned from calling their relatives.

The Ministry of Justice said it disqualified seven lawyers two days ago.

Releases

Political prisoner Ryhor Vasilenka, who was arrested in February, has been released, according to Viasna. He was sentenced to 19 months for replacing the official flag with a protest flag on a flagpole in Homiel in August 2020.

Authorities freed Andrej Kudzik, an activist from Vilejka, Minsk region, who had spent some two years behind bars for alleged public order offenses, Viasna reported. Kudzik was arrested in August 2021.

Political prisoner Yekaterina Yakovleva, a Russian national who served a one-year sentence for public order offenses, was released and deported to Russia, according to Viasna Homiel. The woman lived in Minsk, where she has a daughter.

Human rights defenders identified at least 1,485 political prisoners as of now, but the real number is considerably higher because many cases go undocumented. Opposition sources estimate the number of political prisoners at around 5,000.