{"id":143266,"date":"2025-06-19T13:08:56","date_gmt":"2025-06-19T10:08:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/news\/143266\/"},"modified":"2026-03-10T12:05:06","modified_gmt":"2026-03-10T12:05:06","slug":"reprisals-another-guilty-verdict-against-2020-protester","status":"publish","type":"articles","link":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/news\/143266\/","title":{"rendered":"Reprisals: another guilty verdict against 2020 protester"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Briefly: jailed former presidential hopeful still incommunicado<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Rights defender\u2019s Instagram page branded as extremist content<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Armenia may extradite Belarusian activist  <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

June 19, Pozirk.<\/em><\/strong> Yesterday marked five years since the arrests of former presidential hopeful Viktar Babaryka and his son Eduard.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Viktar Babaryka has been held incommunicado for more than two years. Since February 2023, he communicated with the outside world only once, as earlier this year, a pro-government influencer posted a video with him addressing his family.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Other cases of politically-motivated persecution documented in Belarus over the past two days included a guilty verdict against Valeryja Ar\u0161a\u016dskaja from Minsk, convicted on violent disorder charges for participating in 2020 posteletion protests, Na\u0161a Niva<\/em> reported. The sentence remains unknown.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Two days ago, rights groups added Maksim Urbanovi\u010d, Mika\u0142aj Lapie\u0161ka, Alaksandar Nievar and Maksim Lepu\u0161enka to the political prisoners list. They are all serving prison terms for participating in the 2020 protests.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Online content<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The information ministry branded the Instagram page by Viktoryja Fiodarava of the Pravavaja Inicyjatyva rights group as extremist content.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Belarus-based users cannot access planbmedia.io<\/em>, the website of the Plan B<\/em> media project founded by Volha \u0141ojka, a former prisoner and editor of the tut.by<\/em> portal, Pozirk<\/em> reported. Minsk branded its website and social media pages as extremist content two years ago.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Constitutional Court\u2019s cases<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Constitutional Court denied a request by exiled rights defender Leanid Sudalenka to check whether a recent charge against him of facilitating extremism was allowed by the Constitution.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Back in April, the same court refused to start proceedings on the appeal of Ta\u0107ciana Je\u016ddakimienka, whose husband is serving a prison term in a politically-motivated case, Pravavaja Inicyjatyva reported. The woman complained about the violation of her property rights due to her inability to own a car purchased under a lease agreement. She was banned from using the vehicle based on her husband\u2019s \u201cterrorist\u201d designation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Exiled activists<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Armenia may extradite to Belarus Danni\u0142 \u0160a\u016dcanka, an activist of the outlawed United Civic Party, Radyjo Racyja<\/em> reported. He has been held in custody since his arrest at Yerevan\u2019s airport in mid-March on a wanted notice from Minsk that accuses him of drug trafficking. The activist says the charges are linked to his political activities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Belarusian authorities put up for auction a 27-year-old Opel Sintra belonging to exiled opposition politician Vadzim Saran\u010duko\u016d, who had been sentenced to four years in prison without being present at the trial, the Viasna Human Rights Center said. The starting price is 2,160 rubels ($730).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As of June 19, human rights defenders identified at least 1,186 political prisoners but the real number is considerably higher because many cases go undocumented.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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