{"id":137209,"date":"2025-05-08T11:45:21","date_gmt":"2025-05-08T08:45:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/news\/137209\/"},"modified":"2026-03-10T12:05:06","modified_gmt":"2026-03-10T12:05:06","slug":"reprisals-propaganda-airs-interviews-with-two-poles-convicted-of-espionage","status":"publish","type":"articles","link":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/news\/137209\/","title":{"rendered":"Reprisals: propaganda airs interviews with two Poles convicted of espionage"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Briefly: Captured volunteer who fought Russia in Ukraine faced torture behind bars<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Travel blogger arrested in Yerevan at Minsk\u2019s request<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

BySol helps student who supported Ukraine flee Belarus<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u0141uka\u0161enka pardons 42 political prisoners ahead of Victory Day<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

May 8, Pozirk<\/em>.<\/strong> Propaganda workers aired an interview with Polish national Jerzy \u017bywolewski sentenced to four years in a Belarusian prison for alleged spying. A few days ago, the state-run media also broadcast an interview with Tomasz Bereza given 14 years in prison on similar charges.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Authorities used physical violence against Vasil Vieramiej\u010dyk, a captured volunteer who fought Russia in Ukraine, to force him to record an interview, Na\u0161a Niva<\/em> reported, citing Jura\u015b Ziankovi\u010d, a US lawyer freed from a Belarusian prison last week. The interview with Vieramiej\u010dyk was broadcast on state-run TV earlier this year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Other cases of politically-motivated persecution documented in Belarus on May 7 included reports of money withdrawals from inmates’ accounts by prison authorities to pay off litigation fees and fines. Amounts reach several hundred US dollars in equivalent, causing concerns among the inmates\u2019 families, MAYDAY.TEAM reported.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Travel blogger Alaksandar \u0141ap\u0161yn, who also has Israeli citizenship, was briefly detained in Armenia on May 2, at the request of Belarusian authorities, following a similar incident last September, Radyjo Svaboda <\/em>reported.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The BySol solidarity foundation announced a fundraiser for Danuta Piarednia, a former student persecuted for supporting Ukraine after Russia\u2019s full-scale invasion. BySol helped her flee Belarus after she was released from prison under a pardon program.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Alaksandar \u0141uka\u0161enka pardoned 18 women and 24 men sentenced in politically-motivated cases. Thirteen inmates suffer from chronic diseases, one has a disability and 11 are over 50, his press office reported.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As of May 8, human rights defenders identified at least 1,176 political prisoners but the real number is considerably higher because many cases go undocumented.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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