{"id":141742,"date":"2025-06-07T12:24:02","date_gmt":"2025-06-07T09:24:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/news\/141742\/"},"modified":"2026-03-10T12:05:06","modified_gmt":"2026-03-10T12:05:06","slug":"reprisals-minsk-keeps-cracking-down-on-freedom-of-expression","status":"publish","type":"articles","link":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/news\/141742\/","title":{"rendered":"Reprisals: Minsk keeps cracking down on freedom of expression"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Briefly: Viasna reports at least 20 arrests in Bie\u0142aruski Hajun case<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Jailed activist convicted on disobedience charge<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Interior ministry brands 45 people as \u201cextremists\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

UN experts sound alarm over violations of trade unionists\u2019 rights in Belarus<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Almost 7,000 convicted since 2020 in politically-motivated criminal cases<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

June 7, Pozirk.<\/strong> Belarusian authorities have restricted access to 18,000 media outlets and social media pages in the five years <\/strong>since the 2020 postelection protests, Information Minister Marat Marka\u016d told reporters yesterday.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Minsk\u2019s assault on the freedom of expression continues unabated as authorities reportedly restricted access to more than 3,150 accounts in five months of 2025, comparable to the number recorded throughout 2024. \u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The information ministry has recently blacklisted kyltyra_bu<\/em> and neverago<\/em> on Instagram; Eve<\/em>, timote.suladze<\/em>, _vadzik_<\/em>, marabynl<\/em>, Free Belarus<\/em> and several others on TikTok; \u015aviat\u0142ana Cichano\u016dskaja\u2019s recent interview to I Gryanul Grem<\/em> YouTube show as well as edu-office.org<\/em> education project along with its Facebook page.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Criminal cases<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Other instances of politically-motivated persecution documented in Belarus on June 5 and 6 included at least 20 arrests in the Bie\u0142aruski Hajun case, recorded by the Viasna Human Rights Center since February. The now-defunct project monitored the movement of Russian military and equipment in Belarus.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Jailed activist and former law enforcer U\u0142adzimir Khiha, who volunteered for Cichano\u016dskaja\u2019s presidential campaign in 2020, was given an additional year in prison on disobedience charges, the Strana Dlya Zhizni Foundation said. He has been held incommunicado for over a year of his original four-year term.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Vadzim Pa\u017eyvi\u0142ka, 55, husband of writer Ja\u016dhienia Pasternak, was sentenced to restricted freedom in home confinement on extremism-related charges, Na\u0161a Niva<\/em> reported.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The interior ministry added 45 people, including 12 women, to the list of \u201cpersons involved in extremist activity.\u201d The charges they faced ranged from public order offenses and failure to report a crime to terrorism and high treason.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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

Exiled Belarusian opposition activists have been receiving threats over the past few weeks, transition cabinet\u2019s deputy head Pavie\u0142 \u0141atu\u0161ka said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Two days ago, a group of independent United Nations experts released a statement raising serious concerns over persisting violations of freedom of association regarding activities of trade unions in Belarus. They called on Minsk to accept an international humanitarian mission to assess health and offer medical assistance to jailed trade unionists.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

More than 8,300 people have faced politically-motivated criminal charges since 2020 with at least 6,990 convicted, Viasna said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Last month, the number of people whom rights groups consider political prisoners grew by 28 with 14 new names added yesterday.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As of June 7, human rights defenders identified at least 1,188 political prisoners but the real number is considerably higher because many cases go undocumented.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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