{"id":132978,"date":"2025-04-04T19:52:12","date_gmt":"2025-04-04T16:52:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/news\/132978\/"},"modified":"2026-02-24T20:40:57","modified_gmt":"2026-02-24T20:40:57","slug":"three-minsk-residents-charged-with-treason-for-unauthorized-sociological-surveys","status":"publish","type":"articles","link":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/news\/132978\/","title":{"rendered":"Three Minskers charged with treason for unauthorized sociological surveys"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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\n File photo (Pozirk)<\/span>\n <\/div>\n <\/figcaption>\n<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

April 4, Pozirk.<\/em><\/strong> The Belarusian Investigative Committee (IC) has announced completing a preliminary investigation as part of a high treason case against three Minsk residents, two women and a man.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The IC accused the suspects of passing information on various aspects of life in Belarus to “foundations and non-profit organizations operating under the patronage of foreign secret services.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It said the man conducted a survey containing “deliberately false information” on the health policy pursued by the government to combat COVID-19. The survey was conducted by the company he headed, which\u00a0didn’t have “accreditation to study these issues in Belarus.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“The accused did not actually perform an analysis of the topic but, based on individual reports in open sources, prepared biased results that met the requirements of the ‘customer’ to undermine national security and state interests,” the IC stated.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Similarly, the agency charged the\u00a0women who interviewed citizens on “supposed preference for the country’s development through its integration with the European Union.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

To achieve the “desired result,” they hosted focus groups among people who tended to be critical of the country’s political system, the IC said. The conclusions were then posted on the Internet and used by “unfriendly countries” to harm Belarus.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The unnamed organization on whose behalf the research was conducted did not have a proper accreditation, the IC said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The accused people are also charged with evading “mandatory payments” to the state budget. The IC estimated the damage at over 186,000 rubels. “It has been compensated in full by now,” it said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It investigated the case under Criminal Code articles against high treason and evasion of insurance payments.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The authorities banned unauthorized surveys in 2020 after a number of polls showed low voter support for Alaksandar \u0141uka\u0161enka.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

According to the Viasna Human Rights Center, at least 88 people were convicted of high treason by November 2024, including 13 women. Ten were found guilty without being present at the trial, including exiled opposition leader \u015aviat\u0142ana Cichano\u016dskaja.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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