{"id":1337,"date":"2023-08-03T11:39:00","date_gmt":"2023-08-03T08:39:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/api.pozirk.online\/?post_type=articles&p=1337"},"modified":"2026-02-24T20:40:57","modified_gmt":"2026-02-24T20:40:57","slug":"update-on-arrests-trials-politically-motivated-persecution-9","status":"publish","type":"articles","link":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/news\/1337\/","title":{"rendered":"Update on arrests, trials, politically-motivated persecution"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

August 3, BPN<\/em>. <\/strong>New cases of politically-motivated persecution were documented in Belarus on August 2 with more arrests and charges reported in connection with 2020 protests.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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

Artur Sierhijenka from Minsk is under arrest over pictures from 2020 protests, pro-government Telegram channels reported. Police officers were able to restore deleted pictures on his smartphone.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Police also arrested Alaksandar Pali\u016dka in \u0141uniniec, Brest region, for allegedly insulting public officials online, Na\u0161a Niva<\/em> reported.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

D\u017amitryj Bielski, a coach with Hrodna-based FC Neman, and Julija Ar\u0142a\u0161yna, an administrator at the same club, are under arrest for sharing opposition content, a pro-government Telegram channel said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Police forced another man to remove protest tattoos, a pro-government source reported.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Criminal proceedings<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Authorities sentenced Via\u010das\u0142a\u016d Sa\u0142odki to one year in prison on charges of publicly insulting Alaksandar \u0141uka\u0161enka, the Brest branch of the Viasna Human Rights Center reported.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

On July 31, a court in Brest sentenced Siarhiej Je\u016ddakimienka to seven years in prison for allegedly sharing police officers’ personal data with opposition Telegram channels, the Brest branch of Viasna said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Supreme Court rejected an appeal against lengthy prison sentences for Rabo\u010dy Ruch activists, its press office reported. Charges against them ranged from slandering \u0141uka\u0161enka to high treason and establishing an extremist group.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Vadzim Chra\u015bko went on trial in Minsk on charges of financing extremist activities, Viasna said. Authorities did not disclose any further details of the case. At least 23 Belarusians were convicted on similar charges in the past.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Minsk Regional Court started hearing a case against Ta\u0107ciana Biziuk, accused of promoting extremism, a charge that authorities used against 65 persons in the past year, Viasna reported.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

On July 19, a judge in Minsk sentenced Anastasija Pierjanovi\u010d to three years of restricted freedom in home confinement over 2020 protests, Viasna said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mahilo\u016d businessman U\u0142adzimir Ty\u010dynski will go on trial on August 14 for allegedly filming Russian military equipment and sharing the videos with a media outlet that authorities labeled extremist, MAYDAY.TEAM reported.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Alina Horava, previously sentenced to one year of restricted freedom in home confinement over protests, will go on a new trial on August 10 on similar charges, Viasna said. She is currently under home arrest. Judge D\u017amitryj Sasno\u016dski from Kruh\u0142aje, Mahilo\u016d region, will preside over proceedings involving two other defendants, Alesia Fryhina and Pavie\u0142 Ta\u0142ana\u016d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Belarusian authorities persecuted at least 150 people on political grounds in July, Viasna reported. At least 52 people, including 15 women, faced criminal charges.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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

A Viciebsk man was arrested a day before his wedding and jailed for 10 days after police discovered his pictures from 2020 protests, Na\u0161a Niva<\/em> reported.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A court in the Viciebsk region jailed U\u0142adzimir Rynkievi\u010d for five days for sharing opposition content, the Viciebsk branch of Viasna said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

New criminal cases<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u015aviat\u0142ana \u0141upa\u010d, a daughter of the exiled journalist D\u017amitryj \u0141upa\u010d, faces charges of gross violations of public order, Viasna reported. She has been in custody since early May.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Extremist list update<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The interior ministry declared opposition blogger Valera Rusielik known as “Daroha” and his followers an extremist group, claiming that they are spreading extremism on social media, BPN <\/em>reported.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Other instances of persecution<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The information ministry blocked access to the Plan B <\/em>website, its team said. About a week earlier, Plan B<\/em> content was blacklisted as extremist. Its founder Volha \u0141ojka, a senior editor at the outlawed news website tut.by<\/em>, spent nearly a year in prison in Belarus on politically-motivated charges.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As of August 3, human rights defenders identified at least 1,482 political prisoners but the real number is considerably higher because many cases go undocumented. Opposition sources estimate the number of political prisoners at around 5,000.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

August 3, BPN. New cases of politically-motivated persecution were documented in Belarus on August 2 with more arrests and charges reported in connection with 2020 protests. Arrests Artur Sierhijenka from Minsk is under arrest over pictures from 2020 protests, pro-government Telegram channels reported. Police officers were able to restore deleted pictures on his smartphone. Police also arrested […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":75,"featured_media":0,"template":"","rubric":[16],"class_list":["post-1337","articles","type-articles","status-publish","hentry","rubric-politics"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nUpdate on arrests, trials, politically-motivated persecution | Pozirk<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"August 3, BPN. New cases of politically-motivated persecution were documented in Belarus on August 2 with more arrests and charges reported in\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/news\/1337\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Update on arrests, trials, politically-motivated persecution | Pozirk\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"August 3, BPN. New cases of 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