{"id":1476,"date":"2023-08-16T12:21:00","date_gmt":"2023-08-16T09:21:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/api.pozirk.online\/?post_type=articles&p=1476"},"modified":"2026-03-10T12:05:06","modified_gmt":"2026-03-10T12:05:06","slug":"update-on-arrests-trials-politically-motivated-persecution-13","status":"publish","type":"articles","link":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/news\/1476\/","title":{"rendered":"Update on arrests, trials, politically-motivated persecution"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

August 16, BPN<\/em>. <\/strong>New cases of politically-motivated persecution were documented in Belarus on August 15 as authorities closed down another opposition party and continued to punish dissenters.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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

Police arrested Andrej Ivaniu\u0161yn about two months after his release from prison where he had served a two-and-a-half-year term for allegedly threatening violence against a police officer, Mediazona<\/em> reported.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Brest police arrested psychologist Hanna Ka\u0142ackaja and jailed her on extremism-related charges, Na\u0161a Niva<\/em> reported. Authorities did not disclose any further details. Her son, Cichan Kluka\u010d, is a former political prisoner currently fighting Russia in Ukraine.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Alaksandar Michalevi\u010d, 60, and his wife were arrested upon their return from Poland, pro-government sources said. Both may face criminal charges for participating in 2020 protests.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Committee for State Security (KGB) agents arrested Hieorhij \u010caravaka on August 9 at the Belarusian border when he was returning to Belarus from the United States, the Viasna Human Rights Center reported. The charges against him remain unclear.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Trials<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Authorities jailed New Life Protestant Church pastor Via\u010das\u0142a\u016d Han\u010darenka for 10 days for allegedly defying police orders; and his son-in-law Illa Budaj, for five days on charges of disorderly conduct, the church said in its Telegram channel.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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

A judge in Hrodna sentenced Via\u010das\u0142a\u016d Janiuk to five years in prison for online comments that he had posted in 2020, Viasna said. In June, authorities put the man on the list of “persons involved in terrorist activities.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Siarhiej Ada\u015bko from Baranavi\u010dy, Brest region, was given two and a half years in prison for allegedly abusing state symbols and insulting Alaksandar \u0141uka\u0161enka and public officials, Viasna reported.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A judge in the Minsk region sentenced Volha Ko\u0142as to 18 months of restricted freedom in home confinement for participation in 2020 protest rallies, Viasna said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

D\u017amitryj Makieje\u016d will go on trial in Homiel on August 16, Flagshtok<\/em> reported. The charges against him include participation in an armed conflict abroad, financing and promoting extremism.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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

Authorities placed jailed Andrej Sa\u010de\u016dka in the colony\u2019s internal prison for two months after he had spent 23 days in a punishment cell, MAYDAY.TEAM reported. He is currently serving a six-year prison term for allegedly inciting hatred. The man was diagnosed with a mental illness in custody.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Supreme Court shut down the opposition United Civic Party, Viasna reported. The party did not apply for a new registration in protest against the new law requiring all parties to re-register.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Extremism list update<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The KGB blacklisted the Imaguru startup hub and the Homiel branch of Viasna as extremist groups, the interior ministry said. Jailed journalist \u0141arysa \u0160\u010dyrakova, currently on trial in Homiel, as well as Imaguru’s founder Ta\u0107ciana Maryni\u010d and its staff members Anastasija Chamiankova, Andrej Novak and Kaciaryna Boulton-Smith were also added to the extremist list.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As of August 16, human rights defenders identified at least 1,482 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 16, BPN. New cases of politically-motivated persecution were documented in Belarus on August 15 as authorities closed down another opposition party and continued to punish dissenters. Arrests Police arrested Andrej Ivaniu\u0161yn about two months after his release from prison where he had served a two-and-a-half-year term for allegedly threatening violence against a police officer, Mediazona reported. Brest police […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":84,"featured_media":0,"template":"","rubric":[14],"class_list":["post-1476","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 16, BPN. New cases of politically-motivated persecution were documented in Belarus on August 15 as authorities closed down another\" \/>\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\/1476\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Update on arrests, trials, politically-motivated persecution | Pozirk\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"August 16, BPN. New cases of politically-motivated 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