{"id":147490,"date":"2025-07-20T19:21:47","date_gmt":"2025-07-20T16:21:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/news\/147490\/"},"modified":"2026-03-10T12:05:06","modified_gmt":"2026-03-10T12:05:06","slug":"trials-target-grassroot-opposition-groups-viasna","status":"publish","type":"articles","link":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/news\/147490\/","title":{"rendered":"Viasna: trials target grassroot opposition groups"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<figure class=\"block-image block-image-normal\">\n\n  <img decoding=\"async\" width=\"1128\" height=\"752\" src=\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/tribynal_rawpixel_1128x752.jpg\" class=\"attachment-full size-full\" alt=\"\" srcset=\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/tribynal_rawpixel_1128x752.jpg 1128w, https:\/\/pozirk.online\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/tribynal_rawpixel_1128x752-354x236.jpg 354w, https:\/\/pozirk.online\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/tribynal_rawpixel_1128x752-734x490.jpg 734w, https:\/\/pozirk.online\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/tribynal_rawpixel_1128x752-178x118.jpg 178w, https:\/\/pozirk.online\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/tribynal_rawpixel_1128x752-768x512.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1128px) 100vw, 1128px\" \/>\n  <figcaption>\n  \n       <div class=\"block-image__author\">\n                <span>(rawpixel.com)<\/span>\n    <\/div>\n     <\/figcaption>\n<\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>July 20, <em>Pozirk.<\/em><\/strong> Five Hrodna residents went on trial six days ago on charges of facilitating extremism for alleged association with local Telegram chats, with more trials in similar cases scheduled to open soon, the Viasna Human Rights Center reports.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Criminal proceedings followed a wave of arrests last fall across Belarus as the Committee for State Security (KGB) accused local initiatives of plotting to seize state power and branded many of them as extremist groups.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Local Telegram chats gained popularity among Belarusians during the 2020 postelection protests. Many of them were branded extremist groups for political reasons as the government started using terrorism and extremism designations to silence critical voices. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Association with an extremist group carries a penalty of two to seven years in prison.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"insert-block\">\n\n    <div class=\"insert-block__img\">\n        <img decoding=\"async\" width=\"354\" height=\"236\" src=\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/pozirk_color_blank_1128x752-354x236.jpg\" class=\"attachment-medium size-medium\" alt=\"\" srcset=\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/pozirk_color_blank_1128x752-354x236.jpg 354w, https:\/\/pozirk.online\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/pozirk_color_blank_1128x752-734x490.jpg 734w, https:\/\/pozirk.online\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/pozirk_color_blank_1128x752-178x118.jpg 178w, https:\/\/pozirk.online\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/pozirk_color_blank_1128x752-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/pozirk.online\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/pozirk_color_blank_1128x752.jpg 1128w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 354px) 100vw, 354px\" \/>                        <label class=\"insert-block__tag--mobile\"> \u041f\u043e\u043b\u0438\u0442\u0438\u043a\u0430<\/label>\n\n                <\/div>\n    <div class=\"insert-block__text\">\n                    <label class=\"insert-block__tag\">\u041f\u043e\u043b\u0438\u0442\u0438\u043a\u0430<\/label>\n                <h3 class=\"insert-block__title\">Reprisals: law enforcers set to identify more 2020 protesters<\/h3>\n        <div class=\"insert-block__descr\">July 19, Pozirk. New cases of politically-motivated persecution were documented in Belarus on July 18 as a Telegram channel linked to law enforcement agencies posted pictures of a protest rally five years ago in Hrodna, asking followers to help identify &#8230;<\/div>\n        <a class=\"insert-block__btn-block\" href=\"\/en\/news\/147424\">\n            <button class=\"btn\">\n                <div class='btn__text'>Read the article<\/div>\n            <\/button>\n        <\/a>\n    <\/div>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>July 20, Pozirk. Five Hrodna residents went on trial six days ago on charges of facilitating extremism for alleged association with local Telegram chats, with more trials in similar cases scheduled to open soon, the Viasna Human Rights Center reports. Criminal proceedings followed a wave of arrests last fall across Belarus as the Committee for [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":84,"featured_media":93282,"template":"","rubric":[14],"class_list":["post-147490","articles","type-articles","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","rubric-politics"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v25.5 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Viasna: trials target grassroot opposition groups | Pozirk<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"July 20, Pozirk. Five Hrodna residents went on trial six days ago on charges of facilitating extremism for alleged association with local Telegram chats,\" \/>\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\/147490\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Viasna: trials target grassroot opposition groups | Pozirk\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"July 20, Pozirk. Five Hrodna residents went on trial six days ago on charges of facilitating extremism for alleged association with local Telegram chats,\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/news\/147490\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Pozirk\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/pozirkonline\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-03-10T12:05:06+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/tribynal_rawpixel_1128x752.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1128\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"752\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@Pozirk_online\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"1 minute\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"NewsArticle\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/news\/147490\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/news\/147490\/\"},\"headline\":\"Viasna: trials target grassroot opposition groups\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-07-20T16:21:47+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-03-10T12:05:06+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/news\/147490\/\"},\"wordCount\":129,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/news\/147490\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/tribynal_rawpixel_1128x752.jpg\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/news\/147490\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/news\/147490\/\",\"name\":\"Viasna: trials target grassroot opposition groups | Pozirk\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/news\/147490\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/news\/147490\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/tribynal_rawpixel_1128x752.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-07-20T16:21:47+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-03-10T12:05:06+00:00\",\"description\":\"July 20, Pozirk. 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