{"id":105621,"date":"2024-09-19T11:30:08","date_gmt":"2024-09-19T08:30:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/news\/105621\/"},"modified":"2026-03-10T12:05:06","modified_gmt":"2026-03-10T12:05:06","slug":"reprisals-teachers-in-focus-over-links-to-blacklisted-education-project","status":"publish","type":"articles","link":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/news\/105621\/","title":{"rendered":"Reprisals: teachers in focus over links to blacklisted education project"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

September 19, Pozirk.<\/em><\/strong> New cases of politically-motivated persecution were documented in Belarus on September 18 with arrests and interrogations of teachers across Belarus over alleged links to the Adukavanka education project, the Viasna Human Rights Center reported.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Authorities also opened several criminal proceedings punishing 2020 protesters and supporters of the opposition initiatives.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Iryna Klazovi\u010d, arrested earlier this year for solidarity with political prisoners, went on trial in Minsk on charges of facilitating extremism for alleged association with opposition groups, Viasna said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Jailed opposition activist \u0179micier Da\u0161kievi\u010d is on trial on charges of disobeying prison authorities and violent disorder, Pozirk<\/em> reported. In July last year, Da\u0161kievi\u010d was to be released after spending a year and a half behind bars for participating in 2020 protests. Instead, authorities sentenced him to an additional year in prison for disobedience. That was Da\u0161kievi\u010d\u2019s fourth prison sentence.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A\u0142a Dziasiacik faces six criminal charges at a trial in Brest, including insulting and defaming Alaksandar \u0141uka\u0161enka in connection with critical social media posts, Viasna said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A judge in Mahilo\u016d opened proceedings against Maksim Chva\u0161\u010dynski, arrested upon his return from Poland and accused of association with an extremist group, according to Viasna.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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

Police arrested seven people in the Homiel region for following opposition content, Viasna said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Pro-government sources reported two more arrests for participation in 2020 protests and posting government-critical online comments.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“Extremist” list update<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Committee for State Security Committee declared the Belarus Women\u2019s Foundation an extremist group, a pro-government source said. The foundation\u2019s chairwoman, exiled activist Vieranika Capka\u0142a, supported \u015aviat\u0142ana Cichano\u016dskaja\u2019s presidential campaign in 2020.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The information ministry reported extremist content designations for valerymatskevich<\/em>, ruslan_guseinov_warszawa<\/em> and belarusians_lietuva <\/em>on Instagram.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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

Prosecutors forwarded to court a criminal case against Catholic priest Hienryk Aka\u0142atovi\u010d accused of high treason, Viasna said. The priest has been in custody since last November.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Supreme Court upheld a five-year sentence imposed on exiled human rights activist Leanid Sudalenka, Viasna reported.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Yandex Music, a Russian music streaming service, has removed songs by the Tor Band at the request of Belarusian prosecutors, the Prosecutor General’s Office said. The Tor Band musicians gained fame by performing patriotic songs in 2020 and were subsequently sentenced to lengthy prison terms on charges widely seen as politically motivated.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Authorities disclosed the names of all 37 political prisoners pardoned by \u0141uka\u0161enka three days ago, including former journalist Andrej To\u0142cyn. At the same time, rights groups designated seven people accused or convicted on extremism-related charges as political prisoners.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As of September 19, human rights defenders identified at least 1,326 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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