{"id":172310,"date":"2026-01-20T13:25:34","date_gmt":"2026-01-20T10:25:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/news\/172310\/"},"modified":"2026-03-09T20:10:49","modified_gmt":"2026-03-09T20:10:49","slug":"belarus-holds-22-foreigners-on-politically-motivated-charges","status":"publish","type":"articles","link":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/news\/172310\/","title":{"rendered":"Belarus holds 22 foreigners on politically-motivated charges"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p><strong>January<\/strong><strong> 20,<\/strong><em> <\/em><strong><em>Pozirk<\/em><\/strong><strong><em>.<\/em><\/strong> Belarus holds at least 22 foreigners on politically-motivated charges, said the Viasna Human Rights Center.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Half of them are Russians, while others are nationals of Ukraine, Lithuania, France, Latvia and Poland.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The detainees face espionage, extremism and terrorism charges. Some are accused of calling for sanctions, discrediting Belarus and mass disorder. Six foreigners are held in connection with the Russian war against Ukraine, while five feature on Belarus\u2019 list of designated terrorists.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Since 2020, Belarusian authorities have persecuted at least 100 foreigners for political reasons, including 27 women. At least 75 were sentenced to penal colonies. At least 61 have already been released, and at least 29 have been pardoned.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Belarus had 1,444 documented political prisoners on January 20.<\/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\/2026\/01\/free_belarus_center_logo_1128x752-354x236.jpg\" class=\"attachment-medium size-medium\" alt=\"\" srcset=\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/free_belarus_center_logo_1128x752-354x236.jpg 354w, https:\/\/pozirk.online\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/free_belarus_center_logo_1128x752-734x490.jpg 734w, https:\/\/pozirk.online\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/free_belarus_center_logo_1128x752-178x118.jpg 178w, https:\/\/pozirk.online\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/free_belarus_center_logo_1128x752-768x513.jpg 768w, https:\/\/pozirk.online\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/free_belarus_center_logo_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\">KGB designates Free Belarus Center as extremist group<\/h3>\n        <div class=\"insert-block__descr\">January 20, Pozirk. Belarus\u2019 Committee for State Security (KGB), by its January 15 decision, designated Free Belarus Center as an extremist group. The interior ministry added the nonprofit to its blacklist on January 20. The interior ministry identified Marta Skuharava, &#8230;<\/div>\n        <a class=\"insert-block__btn-block\" href=\"\/en\/news\/172303\">\n            <button class=\"btn\">\n                <div class='btn__text'>Read<\/div>\n            <\/button>\n        <\/a>\n    <\/div>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>January 20, Pozirk. Belarus holds at least 22 foreigners on politically-motivated charges, said the Viasna Human Rights Center. Half of them are Russians, while others are nationals of Ukraine, Lithuania, France, Latvia and Poland. The detainees face espionage, extremism and terrorism charges. Some are accused of calling for sanctions, discrediting Belarus and mass disorder. Six [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":83,"featured_media":58226,"template":"","rubric":[14],"class_list":["post-172310","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>Belarus holds 22 foreigners on politically-motivated charges | Pozirk<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"January 20, Pozirk. Belarus holds at least 22 foreigners on politically-motivated charges, said the Viasna Human Rights Center. Half of them are Russians,\" \/>\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\/172310\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Belarus holds 22 foreigners on politically-motivated charges | Pozirk\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"January 20, Pozirk. Belarus holds at least 22 foreigners on politically-motivated charges, said the Viasna Human Rights Center. 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