{"id":105252,"date":"2024-09-17T11:14:14","date_gmt":"2024-09-17T08:14:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/news\/105252\/"},"modified":"2026-03-10T12:05:06","modified_gmt":"2026-03-10T12:05:06","slug":"reprisals-trials-punish-solidarity-dissent-opposition-activities","status":"publish","type":"articles","link":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/news\/105252\/","title":{"rendered":"Reprisals: two women on trial for solidarity with political prisoners"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

September 17, Pozirk.<\/em> <\/strong>Trials of Aksana Lepka and Ta\u0107ciana \u015aciopa that opened on Monday in Hrodna and Minsk, respectively, are among the new cases of politically-motivated persecution documented in Belarus from September 14 to 16.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Both women were arrested for solidarity with political prisoners earlier this year and accused on extremism-related charges, the Viasna Human Rights Center reported. Rights groups consider their persecution to be politically motivated.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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

Doctor Emil Mielnika\u016d was tried last week in Homiel for sharing opposition content, the Homiel branch of Viasna said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ta\u0107ciana Rabko\u016dskaja, D\u017amitryj Kurbata\u016d and Andrej Tararaka were tried in the Hrodna region on similar charges, the Pravo Imeyut <\/em>Telegram channel said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Authorities branded Sprava Vybary<\/em> accounts on Instagram, Facebook and YouTube extremist content, Viasna reported. Other blacklisted content includes MMZ Solidarnost <\/em>on Telegram; ilya6230<\/em>, love.belarus <\/em>and tiktooook71<\/em> on TikTok.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Arrests<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Juryj Janu\u0161kievi\u010d from Viciebsk and another man were arrested after talking to a police agent online, Mediazona<\/em> reported.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Police also arrested a soccer fan in Sto\u016dbcy, Minsk region for displaying an anti-police symbol, a pro-government source said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Criminal proceedings<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Danii\u0142 Harasim, 19, is on trial in Mahilo\u016d on charges of high treason, illegal actions with firearms and participation in an armed group abroad apparently for his intention to join the Ukrainian Armed Forces, Viasna said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Pavie\u0142 Ivano\u016d went on trial in Viciebsk on Monday for insulting officials and Alaksandar \u0141uka\u0161enka in connection with critical social media posts, Viasna’s Viciebsk branch reported.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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

On September 11, Latvian national Em\u012bls Asars disappeared in Belarus after entering the country by car, Reform.news<\/em> said. On the next day, his family members received a phone call from a Belarusian number informing them that he was arrested.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

D\u017amitryj \u0141uk\u0161a and his wife Palina Pa\u0142avinka released under pardon on July 3, left Belarus for Poland, Deutsche Welle <\/em>reported.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Alaksandar Fika\u016d, Taciana Birula, An\u017ee\u0142a Sikorskaja, Michai\u0142 Korzun and Kaciaryna D\u017eyh are among 37 political prisoners pardoned by recent \u0141uka\u0161enka’s edict, pro-government sources said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Meanwhile, rights groups designated 22 more people as political prisoners, Viasna reported. All were persecuted for participating in 2020 postelection protests.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As of September 17, human rights defenders identified at least 1,358 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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