{"id":121348,"date":"2025-01-11T12:54:52","date_gmt":"2025-01-11T09:54:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/news\/121348\/"},"modified":"2026-03-10T12:05:06","modified_gmt":"2026-03-10T12:05:06","slug":"reprisals-japanese-man-goes-on-trial-on-spying-charges","status":"publish","type":"articles","link":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/news\/121348\/","title":{"rendered":"Reprisals: Japanese man goes on trial on spying charges"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

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

Minsk man arrested for tearing down election poster<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Viciebsk police post wanted persons pictures featuring regime critics<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Four Belarusians tried for links to opposition<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

January 11, Pozirk<\/em>. <\/strong>New cases of politically-motivated persecution were documented in Belarus on January 10 as a Japanese national arrested in July went on trial at the Minsk City Court on spying charges, the Viasna Human Rights Center reported. The judge ruled to close the proceedings to the public.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Siarhiej Fran\u010duk, serving a prison term in a politically-motivated case, faces a new charge of insulting officials at a trial in Babrujsk, Mahilo\u016d region, Viasna said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Trials<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Valeryj H\u0142az, Maja U\u0142anava and Ta\u0107ciana Dabrynina were tried for sharing opposition content in the Viciebsk region, Viasna’s Viciebsk branch reported. The sentences remain unknown.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Piotr Kry\u0161tal was tried in S\u0142onim, Hrodna region, for receiving foreign aid, the Pravo Imeyut<\/em> Telegram channel said. Authorities use this charge to punish solidarity and persecute political prisoners’ families. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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

Police arrested a man in Minsk for tearing down an election poster at a bus stop at night, a pro-government Telegram channel said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Viciebsk police posted wanted persons pictures showing former political prisoners Michai\u0142 \u017dam\u010du\u017eny and Stanis\u0142a\u016d Pa\u016dlinkovi\u010d, rights defenders Pavie\u0142 Lavina\u016d and Iryna Tra\u0107ciakova, Stalinist terror researcher Jan Dzair\u017ea\u016dca\u016d as well as other opposition activists and exiled journalists.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Belarusian authorities released at least 69 political prisoners last month, Viasna said in a report, noting that 20 had served their sentences in full while the remaining 49 were pardoned.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Viasna\u2019s report also documented at least 759 instances of politically-motivated persecution in December and at least 150 sentences amid the ongoing crackdown on regime critics and opposition in Belarus.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As of January 11, human rights defenders identified at least 1,254 political prisoners but the real number is considerably higher because many cases go undocumented.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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