{"id":129132,"date":"2025-03-08T12:58:44","date_gmt":"2025-03-08T09:58:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/news\/129132\/"},"modified":"2026-03-10T12:05:06","modified_gmt":"2026-03-10T12:05:06","slug":"reprisals-journalist-accused-of-extremism-on-trial-in-minsk","status":"publish","type":"articles","link":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/news\/129132\/","title":{"rendered":"Reprisals: journalist accused of extremism on trial in Minsk"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Briefly: Senior tried on protest-related charges<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Interior ministry\u2019s \u201cextremists\u2019\u201d register exceeds 5,000 entries<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Opposition group\u2019s website, diaspora chats among blacklisted pages<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Prominent artist released after serving three years in prison<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

March 8, Pozirk.<\/em> <\/strong>New cases of politically-motivated persecution were documented in Belarus on March 7 as journalist Palina Pitkievi\u010d went on trial in Minsk on extremism-related charges, Pozirk <\/em>reported.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Committee for State Security (KGB) associated Pitkievi\u010d with the MediaIQ project, branded as an \u201cextremist” group last June.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Nina Barysievi\u010d, 71, was tried in Minsk on violent disorder charges that authorities routinely use to persecute regime critics, the Viasna Human Rights Center reported. The sentence remains unknown.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

At least 188 people have been convicted in Belarus on criminal charges of calling for sanctions, Viasna said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“Extremist” designations<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Belarusian interior ministry added 33 new names to the list of \u201cpersons involved in extremist activity,\u201d including 19 designated political prisoners.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The information ministry announced extremist content designations for nine Telegram channels and chats, including those run by Belarusian communities abroad; belpol.pro and politician Vital Ryma\u0161e\u016dski’s Odnoklassniki page; belarusian, zubr_in, eurobelarus, alieh_baradzin, belaryski.patruyot.47 and storks_histoty on Instagram; nexokeist, kirillsarychevrlz, Sapraudny Liwin, and Alexander on TikTok.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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

Last month, authorities released Hienad\u017a Drazdo\u016d, 65, an artist and former head of the Pahonia group at the Belarusian Union of Artists, Viasna said. He was arrested in August 2022 and given three years in prison on extremism-related charges that Belarusian authorities often use to persecute their opponents. He reportedly suffered two strokes behind bars.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Alaksandar Pa\u0161kievi\u010d and Andrej Kandrasiuk convicted on protest-related charges were also liberated after serving their terms in full, Viasna said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As of March 8, human rights defenders identified at least 1,219 political prisoners but the real number is considerably higher because many cases go undocumented.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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