{"id":104398,"date":"2024-09-11T11:10:51","date_gmt":"2024-09-11T08:10:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/news\/104398\/"},"modified":"2026-03-10T12:05:06","modified_gmt":"2026-03-10T12:05:06","slug":"reprisals-historian-on-trial-in-minsk-police-raids-in-brest-region","status":"publish","type":"articles","link":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/news\/104398\/","title":{"rendered":"Reprisals: historian on trial in Minsk, police raids in Brest region"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

September 11, Pozirk. <\/em><\/strong>New cases of politically-motivated persecution were documented in Belarus on September 10, as the Minsk City Court opened proceedings in a case against prominent historian Ihar Mielnika\u016d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He stands trial over an interview with an independent media outlet that Belarusian authorities deem extremist, the Viasna Human Rights Center reported.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Protest-related cases<\/p>\n\n\n\n

At least 10 people were arrested and remain in custody after a police raid in Biaroza, Brest region, that targeted participants in 2020 postelection protests, pro-government Telegram channels said.\u00a0Fourteen others were briefly detained.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Pro-government sources also reported the arrests of an anarchist activist in Hrodna and a legal consulting firm\u2019s assistant manager on the same charges. In a police video, the latter admitted to taking pictures with prominent regime critic Maryja Kale\u015bnikava and sharing opposition content.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Activist Ale\u015b Masiuk was arrested on September 6 in S\u0142onim, Hrodna region, and remained in custody until Monday, Haradzienskaja Pravaabarona said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Online content<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Iryna Alikas, Maksim Harusa\u016d, Ihar Korsak, Alaksandar Tarasievi\u010d, Natalla Ju\u0161ko, D\u017amitryj Vajtovi\u010d, Ja\u016dhien Lach, Volha Bu\u0142avackaja and Natalla Zubryckaja were tried across the Hrodna region for sharing opposition content, the Pravo Imeyut<\/em> Telegram channel said. The verdicts remain unknown.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The information ministry announced extremist content designations for Solar Cross<\/em> on Telegram, Strana Dlya Zhizni <\/em>on VKontakte, Strana Dlya Zhizni 4-BY<\/em> on YouTube as well as slava<\/em>, sonik<\/em>, Bie\u0142arus<\/em>, Andrei Bardukhayeu-Arol<\/em>, Zmahar<\/em> and Dynama Miensk<\/em> on TikTok.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Other cases<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Supreme Court upheld a 20-year sentence against Franak Via\u010dorka, a chief aide to opposition leader \u015aviat\u0142ana Cichano\u016dskaja, the Prosecutor General\u2019s Office said. Via\u010dorka, who lives in exile, dismissed the hearing as a circus.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As of September 11, human rights defenders identified at least 1,352 political prisoners but the real number is considerably higher because many cases go undocumented.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Belarusian authorities have arrested about 65,000 people for political reasons in the four years since the August 2020 presidential election, Viasna reported in early August.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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