{"id":1622,"date":"2023-08-25T11:40:00","date_gmt":"2023-08-25T08:40:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/api.pozirk.online\/?post_type=articles&p=1622"},"modified":"2026-03-09T20:10:49","modified_gmt":"2026-03-09T20:10:49","slug":"update-on-arrests-trials-politically-motivated-persecution-17","status":"publish","type":"articles","link":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/news\/1622\/","title":{"rendered":"Update on arrests, trials, politically-motivated persecution"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

August 25, BPN<\/em>.<\/strong> New cases of politically-motivated persecution were documented in Belarus on August 24, including arrests and penalties linked to participation in 2020 protests.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Arrested and released<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Police arrested Aleh Rudako\u016d and his wife Volha in the Po\u0142ack district, Viciebsk region, the Viasna Human Rights Center reported. Rudako\u016d returned to Belarus in 2020 after living in Russia’s Irkutsk for 17 years. He headed a local Belarusian cultural organization there.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Minsk police arrested restaurant manager D\u017amitryj Hvaj and businessman Maksim Ancip over social media posts, Na\u0161a Niva<\/em> reported.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Authorities released New Life Protestant Church pastor Via\u010das\u0142a\u016d Han\u010darenka after he had served 10 days in jail for allegedly disobeying police orders, the church said in its Telegram channel. His son-in-law Illa Budaj also spent five days in jail on charges of disorderly conduct.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Authorities also released Valer Pankratovi\u010d after he had served a two-year prison term for allegedly insulting Alaksandar \u0141uka\u0161enka, Viasna said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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

A judge in Bras\u0142a\u016d, Viciebsk region, jailed Andrej Kruh\u0142o\u016d, a Minsker, for 10 days for allegedly sharing opposition content, the Viciebsk branch of Viasna said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Authorities have not released Michai\u0142 \u0141apuno\u016d from Homiel after he had served a 15-day jail term, the Homiel branch of Viasna said. He may be serving another jail term. Human rights defenders say that he is the father of Mikita Za\u0142ataro\u016d, a legal minor arrested in 2020 and sentenced to four and a half years in prison on charges widely seen as politically motivated.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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

The Minsk City Court sentenced Arciom Labied\u017aka, the son of prominent exiled opposition politician Anatol Labied\u017aka, to three-and-a-half years in prison for donations to opposition initiatives, Viasna reported.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Former investigator Alaksandar Su\u0161ko and his wife Alesia were given three years of restricted freedom in home confinement for participation in 2020 protests; Kaciaryna Cy\u016dniel, three years; Siarhiej and Ta\u0107ciana De\u0161\u010dyc, two and a half years, Viasna reported. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Former sports official Siarhiej \u010cabatar and his wife Alena were sentenced to two and a half years of restricted freedom in home confinement on similar charges, Tribuna<\/em> reported.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A judge in Mahilo\u016d sentenced businessman U\u0142adzimir Ty\u010dynski to two and a half years in prison for allegedly filming movements of Russian military equipment and sharing the videos with a media outlet that authorities deem extremist, mspring.media <\/em>reported.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The prosecutor requested lengthy prison terms ranging from eight to ten years for four Belarusian emigrants accused of assaulting Belarusian embassy staff in London in December 2021, Viasna said. All four are tried under special proceedings that target those living abroad and evading contact with investigators. Charges against them include inciting hatred, internationally damaging property and violence against officials.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Arciom Karatkievi\u010d will go on trial in Minsk on August 29 for running an opposition Telegram channel and chatroom, Viasna reported.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Freelance cameraman Via\u010das\u0142a\u016d \u0141azara\u016d and his wife Ta\u0107ciana Py\u0107ko will go on trial on extremism-related charges in Viciebsk on September 5, Viasna said. Human rights defenders consider both political prisoners.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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

Authorities transferred jailed opposition activist Palina Palina \u0160arenda-Panasiuk to the temporary detention center in Re\u010dyca, Homiel region, for “investigative actions,” in a new case on charges of disobeying prison authorities, her husband Andrej \u0160arenda said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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

Authorities blacklisted Viasna as an extremist group on August 23, pro-government Telegram channels said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As of August 25, human rights defenders identified at least 1,481 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 25, BPN. New cases of politically-motivated persecution were documented in Belarus on August 24, including arrests and penalties linked to participation in 2020 protests. Arrested and released Police arrested Aleh Rudako\u016d and his wife Volha in the Po\u0142ack district, Viciebsk region, the Viasna Human Rights Center reported. Rudako\u016d returned to Belarus in 2020 after living in […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":83,"featured_media":0,"template":"","rubric":[16],"class_list":["post-1622","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 25, BPN. New cases of politically-motivated persecution were documented in Belarus on August 24, including arrests and penalties linked\" \/>\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\/1622\/\" \/>\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\" 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