March 29, Pozirk. Vital Čopik, arrested in Brest for attending public court hearings in criminal cases linked to the persecution of the opposition, was taken to hospital with signs of severe beatings and suspected liver damage, the Viasna Human Rights Center reports.
On March 28, Alaksandar Łaŭrukovič of the interior ministry’s organized crime unit said that police “stopped activities” of several persons in Brest, Baranavičy and Pinsk with alleged links to Viasna, which Belarusian authorities branded an “extremist” group in 2023.
A 40-year-old Brest man, presumably Čopik, was recording names of witnesses, judges and prosecutors and passed that information to opposition online media outlets for publication, according to the official.
The Investigative Committee filed criminal charges of facilitating extremism and placed the suspect in a pre-trial detention center, Łaŭrukovič said. He may face up to seven years in prison if convicted.
The official added that investigators are considering bringing charges against other suspected trial observers.
