Šarenda-Panasiuk may face new charges after serving prison term

May 21, Pozirk. Opposition activist Palina Šarenda-Panasiuk was to be released today, but she is held at Homiel’s pre-trial detention center, the Viasna Human Rights Center says, citing her husband Andrej Šarenda.

The Investigative Committee reportedly arrested her for three days to file new charges.

The news comes as a surprise, weeks after a judge in Rečyca, Homiel region, ruled to establish preventive supervision over her, a measure usually applied to people released from prison.

In late March, a state-run TV channel reported that Šarenda-Panasiuk appealed to Alaksandar Łukašenka for pardon.

Her husband made it clear that the move was prompted by ill-treatment: the activist spent a long time in punishment cells and was deprived of food and medicine parcels.

In June 2021, the woman was given two years in prison for alleged violence against a police officer and insulting officials. She subsequently received additional sentences for allegedly disobeying the prison administration.

Minsk has ignored an appeal from the UN Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women to take urgent measures to protect Šarenda-Panasiuk.

Also read: Šarenda-Panasiuk denied permission to meet with lawyer