{"id":119264,"date":"2024-12-21T13:14:20","date_gmt":"2024-12-21T10:14:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/news\/119264\/"},"modified":"2026-03-10T12:05:06","modified_gmt":"2026-03-10T12:05:06","slug":"reprisals-three-arrested-in-crackdown-on-solidarity-networks","status":"publish","type":"articles","link":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/news\/119264\/","title":{"rendered":"Reprisals: three arrested in crackdown on solidarity networks"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Briefly:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

State-run station airs propaganda feature to discredit BySol<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

New Vision clinic\u2019s founder, eight others branded \u201cterrorists\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Police harassing former election observers in run-up to January poll<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Two Homiel region\u2019s chats labelled \u201cextremist\u201d groups<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

December 21, Pozirk. <\/em><\/strong>Yesterday, the state-run ONT<\/em> TV channel reported the arrests of D\u017amitryj Kavalo\u016d, Siarhiej Karda\u0161 and Alaksiej Kubrako\u016d for allegedly collaborating with the BySol Solidarity Fund and transferring money to political prisoners’ families.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

BySol head Andrej Stry\u017eak linked the arrests to the authorities’ attempts to discredit exiled initiatives and undermine solidarity projects in the run-up to the January presidential election.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Other cases of politically-motivated persecution documented in Belarus on December 20 were also linked to the ongoing crackdown ahead of the presidential vote. Mass arrests in early December in Diar\u017eynsk, Minsk region, targeted people who signed up as independent election observers in 2020 and participants in 2020 postelection protests, the Viasna Human Rights Center said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Miras\u0142ava Cycyna, head of a village culture center in \u010capuki, Viciebsk region, was tried for sharing opposition content, the Vitebsk, Ya Gulayu<\/em> Telegram channel said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cExtremist\u201d and \u201cterrorist\u201d lists updates<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Committee for State Security (KGB) added nine people to the list of terrorists, including six political prisoners and exiled Aleh Ka\u016dryhin, founder of the New Vision Clinic. The interior ministry added 29 new names to its register of people “involved in extremist activities.” <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The information ministry announced extremist content designations for Mikhail Fishman’s book about the deceased Russian politician Boris Nemtsov, Andru\u015b Bie\u0142avie\u0161kin<\/em> and Speak_like_Belarus <\/em>on X and Kollegi-Podrugi<\/em> on Viber.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Authorities also blacklisted followers of two Telegram chats from the Homiel region as extremist groups, Pozirk<\/em> reported.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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

A total of 45 media workers are held behind bars in Belarus, the Belarusian Association of Journalists said. Of these, six were given prison terms exceeding 10 years.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The ONT<\/em> disclosed five names from the recent pardon list: U\u0142adzimir Apanovi\u010d, U\u0142adzimir Ba\u0142cianko\u016d, Alaksandar \u0141ahuta, Arciom Pucieni\u010d and Siarhiej \u010cekiel.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As of December 21, human rights defenders identified at least 1,298 political prisoners but the real number is considerably higher because many cases go undocumented.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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