{"id":170471,"date":"2026-01-04T17:40:15","date_gmt":"2026-01-04T14:40:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/news\/170471\/"},"modified":"2026-03-10T12:05:06","modified_gmt":"2026-03-10T12:05:06","slug":"prominent-soccer-player-convicted-over-2020-protests-pardoned-reports","status":"publish","type":"articles","link":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/news\/170471\/","title":{"rendered":"Prominent soccer player convicted over 2020 protests pardoned \u2013 reports"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<figure class=\"block-image block-image-normal\">\n\n  <img decoding=\"async\" width=\"1050\" height=\"700\" src=\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/solovei_abff_by.jpg\" class=\"attachment-full size-full\" alt=\"\" srcset=\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/solovei_abff_by.jpg 1050w, https:\/\/pozirk.online\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/solovei_abff_by-354x236.jpg 354w, https:\/\/pozirk.online\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/solovei_abff_by-734x490.jpg 734w, https:\/\/pozirk.online\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/solovei_abff_by-178x118.jpg 178w, https:\/\/pozirk.online\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/solovei_abff_by-768x512.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1050px) 100vw, 1050px\" \/>\n  <figcaption>\n  \n       <div class=\"block-image__author\">\n                <span>(abff.by)<\/span>\n    <\/div>\n     <\/figcaption>\n<\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>January 4, <em>Pozirk.<\/em><\/strong> Andrej Sa\u0142aviej, Belarus\u2019 best soccer player in 2021 convicted on protest-related charges, was among 25 people pardoned in September, <em>by.tribuna.com<\/em> reports.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The athlete and his wife Aksana were given two years of restricted freedom in home confinement for participating in the 2020 postelection protests in Belarus.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>A few weeks ago, Sa\u0142aviej was blacklisted as \u201cinvolved in extremist activities,\u201d a designation that includes close monitoring of his financial transactions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Following the crackdown on the 2020 postelection protests, authorities in Belarus equated criticism, solidarity, advocacy, the free media and free expression to extremism and terrorism.&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/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\"> Politics<\/label>\n\n                <\/div>\n    <div class=\"insert-block__text\">\n                    <label class=\"insert-block__tag\">Politics<\/label>\n                <h3 class=\"insert-block__title\">Censorship, pardons, instances of persecution documented on December 30, 31<\/h3>\n        <div class=\"insert-block__descr\">January 1, Pozirk. In its relentless campaign of censorship, the Belarusian information ministry declared more than 22 social media accounts \u201cextremist content\u201d on December 30 and 31. The blacklisted pages include the Telegram communities and chats discussing politics, religion, history, &#8230;<\/div>\n        <a class=\"insert-block__btn-block\" href=\"\/en\/news\/170272\">\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>January 4, Pozirk. Andrej Sa\u0142aviej, Belarus\u2019 best soccer player in 2021 convicted on protest-related charges, was among 25 people pardoned in September, by.tribuna.com reports. The athlete and his wife Aksana were given two years of restricted freedom in home confinement for participating in the 2020 postelection protests in Belarus. A few weeks ago, Sa\u0142aviej was [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":84,"featured_media":170438,"template":"","rubric":[16],"class_list":["post-170471","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>Prominent soccer player convicted over 2020 protests pardoned \u2013 reports | Pozirk<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"January 4, Pozirk. Andrej Sa\u0142aviej, Belarus\u2019 best soccer player in 2021 convicted on protest-related charges, was among 25 people pardoned in September,\" \/>\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\/170471\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Prominent soccer player convicted over 2020 protests pardoned \u2013 reports | Pozirk\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"January 4, Pozirk. Andrej Sa\u0142aviej, Belarus\u2019 best soccer player in 2021 convicted on protest-related charges, was among 25 people pardoned in September,\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/news\/170471\/\" \/>\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\/2026\/01\/solovei_abff_by.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1050\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"700\" \/>\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\/170471\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/news\/170471\/\"},\"headline\":\"Prominent soccer player convicted over 2020 protests pardoned \u2013 reports\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-01-04T14:40:15+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-03-10T12:05:06+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/news\/170471\/\"},\"wordCount\":105,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/news\/170471\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/solovei_abff_by.jpg\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/news\/170471\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/news\/170471\/\",\"name\":\"Prominent soccer player convicted over 2020 protests pardoned \u2013 reports | Pozirk\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/news\/170471\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/news\/170471\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/solovei_abff_by.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-01-04T14:40:15+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-03-10T12:05:06+00:00\",\"description\":\"January 4, Pozirk. Andrej Sa\u0142aviej, Belarus\u2019 best soccer player in 2021 convicted on protest-related charges, was among 25 people pardoned in September,\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/news\/170471\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/news\/170471\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/news\/170471\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/solovei_abff_by.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/solovei_abff_by.jpg\",\"width\":1050,\"height\":700},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/news\/170471\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Prominent soccer player convicted over 2020 protests pardoned \u2013 reports\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/\",\"name\":\"Pozirk\",\"description\":\"\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/#organization\",\"name\":\"Pozirk\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/cropped-Logo_color_512.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/cropped-Logo_color_512.png\",\"width\":512,\"height\":512,\"caption\":\"Pozirk\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/pozirkonline\/\",\"https:\/\/x.com\/Pozirk_online\"]}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Prominent soccer player convicted over 2020 protests pardoned \u2013 reports | Pozirk","description":"January 4, Pozirk. Andrej Sa\u0142aviej, Belarus\u2019 best soccer player in 2021 convicted on protest-related charges, was among 25 people pardoned in September,","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/news\/170471\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Prominent soccer player convicted over 2020 protests pardoned \u2013 reports | Pozirk","og_description":"January 4, Pozirk. Andrej Sa\u0142aviej, Belarus\u2019 best soccer player in 2021 convicted on protest-related charges, was among 25 people pardoned in September,","og_url":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/news\/170471\/","og_site_name":"Pozirk","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/pozirkonline\/","article_modified_time":"2026-03-10T12:05:06+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1050,"height":700,"url":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/solovei_abff_by.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_site":"@Pozirk_online","twitter_misc":{"Est. reading time":"1 minute"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/news\/170471\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/news\/170471\/"},"headline":"Prominent soccer player convicted over 2020 protests pardoned \u2013 reports","datePublished":"2026-01-04T14:40:15+00:00","dateModified":"2026-03-10T12:05:06+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/news\/170471\/"},"wordCount":105,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/news\/170471\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/solovei_abff_by.jpg","inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/news\/170471\/","url":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/news\/170471\/","name":"Prominent soccer player convicted over 2020 protests pardoned \u2013 reports | Pozirk","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/news\/170471\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/news\/170471\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/solovei_abff_by.jpg","datePublished":"2026-01-04T14:40:15+00:00","dateModified":"2026-03-10T12:05:06+00:00","description":"January 4, Pozirk. Andrej Sa\u0142aviej, Belarus\u2019 best soccer player in 2021 convicted on protest-related charges, was among 25 people pardoned in September,","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/news\/170471\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/news\/170471\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/news\/170471\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/solovei_abff_by.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/solovei_abff_by.jpg","width":1050,"height":700},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/news\/170471\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Prominent soccer player convicted over 2020 protests pardoned \u2013 reports"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/#website","url":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/","name":"Pozirk","description":"","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/#organization","name":"Pozirk","url":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/cropped-Logo_color_512.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/cropped-Logo_color_512.png","width":512,"height":512,"caption":"Pozirk"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/pozirkonline\/","https:\/\/x.com\/Pozirk_online"]}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/articles\/170471","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/articles"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/articles"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/84"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/170438"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=170471"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"rubric","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/rubric?post=170471"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}