{"id":170672,"date":"2026-01-06T12:24:18","date_gmt":"2026-01-06T09:24:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/news\/170672\/"},"modified":"2026-03-10T12:05:06","modified_gmt":"2026-03-10T12:05:06","slug":"opposition-leader-urges-release-of-rights-defenders-rabkova-lojka","status":"publish","type":"articles","link":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/news\/170672\/","title":{"rendered":"Opposition leader urges release of rights defenders Rabkova, \u0141ojka"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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January 6, Pozirk.<\/em><\/strong> Belarusian opposition leader \u015aviat\u0142ana Cichano\u016dskaja has urged Minsk to liberate jailed human rights defenders Marfa Rabkova and Anastasija \u0141ojka on the day that they turned 31 and 37, respectively.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cFor Marfa, it is already her sixth birthday as a political prisoner. Both were jailed for defending the rights of others. They must be freed and reunited with their families,” the politician said on X.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Rabkova, who coordinated the volunteer service for the Viasna Human Rights Center, has been held behind bars since her arrest in September 2020. In 2022, she was given 15 years in prison on charges widely seen as politically motivated. Later, the Supreme Court reduced her sentence by three months.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u0141ojka is serving a seven-year prison term on charges of inciting hatred. The criminal case against her stemmed from the allegations that she was involved in drafting a report on the persecution of anarchist activists in 2018, human rights defenders said. Prosecutors interpreted the report\u2019s critical statements about police as incitement of hatred.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Several prominent rights defenders were freed on December 13, including Nobel Peace Prize winner and Viasna\u2019s founder Ale\u015b Bialacki, after the meeting between Aleksandar \u0141uka\u0161enka and John Coale, US special envoy to Belarus.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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