Eleven teenagers held political prisoners in Belarus – rights group

November 20, Pozirk. Eleven teenagers are imprisoned in Belarus on politically-motivated charges, according to the Viasna Human Rights Center.
Its report has been released on World Children’s Day, marking the adoption of the Declaration of the Rights of the Child by the UN General Assembly on November 20, 1959.
Mikita Załataroŭ, Siarhiej Hackievič, Eduard Kudyniuk, Maksim Imchavik, Ivan Paciajčuk, Dzianis Chaziej, Alaksandar Viniarski, Pavieł Piskun, Aleh Dabrydnieŭ, Arciom Vajciachovič and Mikita Bruj were legal minors at the time of their arrest.
Thousands of children have witnessed arrests and criminal persecution of their parents since 2020, while dozens ended up behind bars themselves, Viasna said. Some minors were beaten and tortured, it noted.
Załataroŭ was arrested in August 2020, when he was 16 years old. Authorities sent him to a juvenile detention center after finding him guilty of organizing mass riots and threatening violence against a police officer.
In August 2022, he was transferred to Prison No 8 in Žodzina, Minsk region, to serve the rest of his four-and-a-half-year term.
Załataroŭ has epilepsy and repeatedly complained to his family about severe beatings and the use of tasers against him.
As of November 20, human rights defenders identified at least 1,445 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.
- Politics
- Economy, PoliticsInternal Troops cultivate Łukašenka’s homeland fieldsThe material is available only to POZIRK+
- Economy, SocietyFire destroys 100 tons of hay in Miadzieł districtThe material is available only to POZIRK+
- Politics, SecurityŁukašenka makes money on illegal migration – Ukrainian intelligenceThe material is available only to POZIRK+
- Politics“Free Belarus is our goal”: Cichanoŭskaja marks 35 years since Sovereignty DeclarationThe material is available only to POZIRK+
- Politics, SecurityBelarusian diplomats to attend Helsinki+50 conferenceThe material is available only to POZIRK+
- PoliticsMinsk declares jewelry brand extremistThe material is available only to POZIRK+
- PoliticsGeorgia: Migration officers notify Belarusian embassy of detaining émigréThe material is available only to POZIRK+
- PoliticsSome 70 political prisoners convicted of malicious disobedience – ViasnaThe material is available only to POZIRK+
- Economy, PoliticsŁukašenka reiterates willingness to export engines and medicines to CubaThe material is available only to POZIRK+
- Politics, SocietyMałanka Media journalist beaten in VilniusThe material is available only to POZIRK+
- PoliticsLithuanian MP appeals to prosecutor’s office regarding Cichanoŭski’s remarksThe material is available only to POZIRK+
- Politics, Society
- Germany news, Politics
- PoliticsRights defenders declare eight people to be political prisonersThe material is available only to POZIRK+
- Politics, SocietyDeadline misstep leads to deportation for Belarusian family in SwedenThe material is available only to POZIRK+
- EconomyBelarus shows low coverage of external debt by international reservesThe material is available only to POZIRK+
- SocietyPoland seizes Belarusian cigarettes hidden in trucksThe material is available only to POZIRK+
- Politics, SocietyMoscow reasserts naming rules for Belarusian Orthodox ChurchThe material is available only to POZIRK+
- Economy, PoliticsPoland sanctions Belarusian Cement CompanyThe material is available only to POZIRK+