{"id":1458,"date":"2023-08-15T11:03:00","date_gmt":"2023-08-15T08:03:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/api.pozirk.online\/?post_type=articles&p=1458"},"modified":"2026-03-10T12:05:06","modified_gmt":"2026-03-10T12:05:06","slug":"update-on-arrests-trials-politically-motivated-persecution-12","status":"publish","type":"articles","link":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/news\/1458\/","title":{"rendered":"Update on arrests, trials, politically-motivated persecution"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

August 15, BPN<\/em>. <\/strong>New cases of politically-motivated persecution were documented in Belarus on August 14, including the closure of a major opposition party and more charges linked to alleged insults of Alaksandar \u0141uka\u0161enka.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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

Police arrested Andrej Fiodara\u016d, head of the BelAZ truck company\u2019s technical support center in Russia, on suspicion that he participated in protests and posted abusive online comments, pro-government Telegram channels said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Riot police raided the home of the New Life Protestant Church pastor Via\u010das\u0142a\u016d Han\u010darenka and arrested him, Chry\u015bcijanskaja Vizija reported.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Last week, police arrested at least three employees of the Navahrudak-based gas equipment plant in the Hrodna region at their workplaces, the Viasna Human Rights Center reported. The arrests may be linked to opposition content as police inspected the employees’ smartphones.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Four Homiel residents are under arrest on similar charges, pro-government Telegram channels said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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

A judge ordered compulsory psychiatric treatment for Homiel chess player Valer Jarocki who was accused of slandering \u0141uka\u0161enka, the Homiel branch of Viasna said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In Baranavi\u010dy, Brest region, Siarhiej Korsak was given one year in prison for allegedly insulting \u0141uka\u0161enka, Viasna said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A judge in Homiel sentenced a man from Raha\u010do\u016d to seven years in prison on charges of forming an extremist group, the Homiel Regional Court said. His cumulative sentence is 11 years and six months in prison as earlier he had been convicted of inciting hatred, organizing protests, insulting officials and leading an extremist group.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

New extremist content<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Authorities blacklisted Rabo\u010dy Ruch’s accounts on YouTube, Facebook and TikTok as extremist content following a request from the Mahilo\u016d region’s prosecutors, the Prosecutor General’s Office reported.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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

Arciom Zajac, 35, was taken to hospital unconscious from the Pier\u0161amajski District Police Department in Minsk and died later, Belsat TV<\/em> reported citing its sources. The information could not be verified from other sources.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Supreme Court shut down the center-right Belarusian Popular Front, state-run media reported. On August 15, the court is to hear a liquidation suit against the United Civic Party.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Authorities placed jailed Andrej Sa\u010de\u016dka in the colony\u2019s internal prison for two months, MAYDAY.TEAM reported. Earlier, he had been added to the “terrorist list” and sentenced to six years in prison on charges widely seen as politically motivated. He was diagnosed with a mental illness in custody.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The wife and daughter of journalist Ihar Karniej, arrested in July, left for Portugal, Ina Karniej’s Facebook page says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Police brought criminal charges against Dzianis Da\u0161kievi\u010d in Raha\u010do\u016d, Homiel region, accusing him of insulting \u0141uka\u0161enka, zerkalo.io reported. Earlier he was accused of sharing opposition content for posting a picture of Polish President Andrzej Duda against a background of the white-red-white flag. Da\u0161kievi\u010d has been living abroad for over a year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As of August 15, human rights defenders identified at least 1,483 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 15, BPN. New cases of politically-motivated persecution were documented in Belarus on August 14, including the closure of a major opposition party and more charges linked to alleged insults of Alaksandar \u0141uka\u0161enka. Arrests Police arrested Andrej Fiodara\u016d, head of the BelAZ truck company\u2019s technical support center in Russia, on suspicion that he participated in protests and […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":84,"featured_media":0,"template":"","rubric":[14],"class_list":["post-1458","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 15, BPN. New cases of politically-motivated persecution were documented in Belarus on August 14, including the closure of a major\" \/>\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\/1458\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Update on 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