{"id":172801,"date":"2026-01-23T18:11:35","date_gmt":"2026-01-23T15:11:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/news\/172801\/"},"modified":"2026-03-09T20:10:49","modified_gmt":"2026-03-09T20:10:49","slug":"exiled-commentator-balkuniec-faces-serious-charges-in-belarus","status":"publish","type":"articles","link":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/news\/172801\/","title":{"rendered":"Exiled commentator Ba\u0142kuniec faces serious charges in Belarus"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p><strong>January 23,<\/strong><em> <strong>Pozirk.<\/strong><\/em> Belarus\u2019 Investigative Committee has launched criminal proceedings against exiled Belarusian political commentator D\u017amitryj Ba\u0142kuniec.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>He is accused of conspiracy to seize power, extremism, calls for sanctions, defaming and insulting Alaksandar \u0141uka\u0161enka and discrediting Belarus \u2013 a standard set of charges used by authorities against critics.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Belarus\u2019 Committee for State Security (KGB) designated Ba\u0142kuniec as a terrorist and included him in Russia\u2019s database of wanted criminals. &nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201c\u0141uka\u0161enka has come at my persona and decided to play \u2018justice.\u2019 Based on his family Criminal Code\u2026 I face up to 25 years [in prison] or death,\u201d Ba\u0142kuniec commented on the probe on his Telegram channel, which has more than 3,000 subscribers.<\/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\"> \u041f\u043e\u043b\u0438\u0442\u0438\u043a\u0430<\/label>\n\n                <\/div>\n    <div class=\"insert-block__text\">\n                    <label class=\"insert-block__tag\">\u041f\u043e\u043b\u0438\u0442\u0438\u043a\u0430<\/label>\n                <h3 class=\"insert-block__title\">Reprisals: exiled activists, jailed regime critics under pressure<\/h3>\n        <div class=\"insert-block__descr\">January 23, Pozirk. New cases of politically-motivated persecution were documented in Belarus on January 21 and 22, with lengthy sentences targeting exiled activists and reports coming in of pressure on inmates at the Homiel pre-trial detention center. A judge in &#8230;<\/div>\n        <a class=\"insert-block__btn-block\" href=\"\/en\/news\/172736\">\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 23, Pozirk. Belarus\u2019 Investigative Committee has launched criminal proceedings against exiled Belarusian political commentator D\u017amitryj Ba\u0142kuniec. He is accused of conspiracy to seize power, extremism, calls for sanctions, defaming and insulting Alaksandar \u0141uka\u0161enka and discrediting Belarus \u2013 a standard set of charges used by authorities against critics. Belarus\u2019 Committee for State Security (KGB) designated [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":83,"featured_media":149629,"template":"","rubric":[14],"class_list":["post-172801","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>Exiled commentator Ba\u0142kuniec faces serious charges in Belarus | Pozirk<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"January 23, Pozirk. Belarus\u2019 Investigative Committee has launched criminal proceedings against exiled Belarusian political commentator D\u017amitryj Ba\u0142kuniec.\" \/>\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\/172801\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Exiled commentator Ba\u0142kuniec faces serious charges in Belarus | Pozirk\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"January 23, Pozirk. 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