{"id":161352,"date":"2025-10-24T11:27:14","date_gmt":"2025-10-24T08:27:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/news\/161352\/"},"modified":"2026-03-10T12:05:06","modified_gmt":"2026-03-10T12:05:06","slug":"reprisals-five-people-imprisoned-over-links-to-hrodna-local-chats","status":"publish","type":"articles","link":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/news\/161352\/","title":{"rendered":"Reprisals: five people imprisoned over links to Hrodna local chats"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

October 24, Pozirk<\/em>.<\/strong> A judge in Hrodna this week sentenced five people to two and a half years in prison each for participation in local online chats.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ta\u0107ciana Pa\u0142ubok, Volha Ala\u0161kievi\u010d, Ihar Chinievi\u010d, Alaksandar Lebied\u017a and his wife Iryna Lebied\u017a were also fined 33,600 rubels (some $11,260) each, the Viasna Human Rights Center reported. They faced extremism-related charges that rights groups see as politically motivated.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Other instances of politically-motivated persecution reported in Belarus on October 22 and 23 include a report from the the Prosecutor General\u2019s Office reflecting the scale of use of extremism-related criminal articles for politically-motivated persecution of exiled opponents of the government. The report says that at least 120 people were convicted of extremist crimes in Belarus without being present at trials as of August.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The government continues its attempt to control what information people consume online. The information ministry announced extremist content designations for exiled lawyer Ale\u015b Michalevi\u010d\u2019s Facebook page, Re:BELarus<\/em> YouTube channel, Litarka<\/em> and Tolki Anonsy<\/em> Telegram channels. Other blacklisted content includes the website and social media accounts of the Belarusian community in Sweden.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Authorities released media executive Kanstancin Za\u0142atych after he had served the four-year prison term in full, the Belarusian Association of Journalists (BAJ) reported. Rights groups considered him a political prisoner.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Prison authorities at the Penal Colony No 4 in Homiel prohibit female inmates from bringing spare underwear, towels or hygiene items, including sanitary pads, to the facility for long visits, MAYDAY.TEAM <\/em>reported. Their family members reportedly have to bring flip-flops and bathrobes for them, as the bathrooms and shower rooms are located in a different building.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Moscow listed the Kastu\u015b Kalino\u016dski Regiment, a Belarusian unit fighting alongside Ukrainian forces against Russians in Ukraine, among organizations reportedly involved in extremism or terrorism, Rosfinmonitoring said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As of October 24, human rights defenders identified at least 1,244 political prisoners but the real number is considerably higher because many cases remain undocumented.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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