Minsk investigators opened 2,580 extremism-related cases in 2023, official says

February 12, Pozirk. A total of 2,580 extremism-related criminal charges were filed in Minsk last year in connection with the 2020 postelection protests, Kaciaryna Harlinskaja of the Investigative Committee told Minsk-Novosti.

More than 1,000 people were accused of gross violations of public order with a similar number of defendants facing charges of insulting Alaksandar Łukašenka and officials as well as inciting hatred, she added.

Belarusian human rights defenders identified these charges as the most common grounds for politically-motivated persecution in 2023.

The law enforces keep working to identify protesters, Harlinskaja stressed.

In 2023, Minsk judges passed more than half of verdicts in politically-motivated criminal cases, the Viasna Human Rights Center said.

The center has information on 1,603 persons, more than 70 percent of them male, convicted across Belarus on what it called politically-motivated charges.

The figures cited by the Investigative Committee suggest that the real number of victims of political persecution is much higher than cases documented by Viasna.