{"id":183053,"date":"2026-04-10T11:29:27","date_gmt":"2026-04-10T08:29:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/news\/183053\/"},"modified":"2026-04-10T12:24:21","modified_gmt":"2026-04-10T09:24:21","slug":"rights-defenders-sound-alarm-over-crackdown-on-relatives-of-belarusian-prisoners","status":"publish","type":"articles","link":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/news\/183053\/","title":{"rendered":"Rights defenders sound alarm over crackdown on relatives of Belarusian prisoners"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<figure class=\"block-image block-image-normal\">\n\n  <img decoding=\"async\" width=\"1128\" height=\"752\" src=\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/turma_radyio_svaboda.jpg\" class=\"attachment-full size-full\" alt=\"\" srcset=\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/turma_radyio_svaboda.jpg 1128w, https:\/\/pozirk.online\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/turma_radyio_svaboda-354x236.jpg 354w, https:\/\/pozirk.online\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/turma_radyio_svaboda-734x490.jpg 734w, https:\/\/pozirk.online\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/turma_radyio_svaboda-178x118.jpg 178w, https:\/\/pozirk.online\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/turma_radyio_svaboda-768x512.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1128px) 100vw, 1128px\" \/>\n  <figcaption>\n  \n       <div class=\"block-image__author\">\n                <span>(Radyjo Svaboda)<\/span>\n    <\/div>\n     <\/figcaption>\n<\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>April 10, <em>Pozirk.<\/em> <\/strong>Police have summoned family members of inmates held in Belarusian prisons for questioning after the Committee for State Security (KGB) announced an \u201cextremist group\u201d designation for 22 online chats that they used for communication, MAYDAY.TEAM says on Telegram.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Law enforcers from Minsk reportedly contacted some of the chat administrators, requesting information about certain contacts without demanding the deletion of the chats.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>However, rights defenders noted the deletion of the Anto\u0161kina chat on the Viber messaging app, which connected more than 1,000 relatives of convicts serving sentences at Penal Colony No 4 Homiel, warning that its members may now face criminal charges.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Anyone seeking information or support about relatives held in pretrial detention in Belarus may now be persecuted, as such involvement could be used as grounds for criminal charges, warned Leanid Maroza\u016d, legal adviser to Belarusian opposition leader \u015aviat\u0142ana Cichano\u016dskaja.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Belarusian authorities are deliberately suppressing not only political activism but also any form of solidarity by criminalizing it, he noted.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Following the crackdown on the 2020 postelection protests, authorities in Belarus have equated criticism, solidarity, advocacy, the free media and free expression to extremism and terrorism.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"insert-block\">\n\n    <div class=\"insert-block__img\">\n        <img decoding=\"async\" width=\"300\" height=\"200\" src=\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/\u0442\u044e\u0440\u044c\u043c\u0430-\u0441\u043e\u043b\u043d\u0446\u0435-\u043f\u0438\u043a\u0441\u0430\u0431\u0430\u0439-300x200.jpg\" class=\"attachment-medium size-medium\" alt=\"\" srcset=\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/\u0442\u044e\u0440\u044c\u043c\u0430-\u0441\u043e\u043b\u043d\u0446\u0435-\u043f\u0438\u043a\u0441\u0430\u0431\u0430\u0439-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/pozirk.online\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/\u0442\u044e\u0440\u044c\u043c\u0430-\u0441\u043e\u043b\u043d\u0446\u0435-\u043f\u0438\u043a\u0441\u0430\u0431\u0430\u0439-1024x682.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/pozirk.online\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/\u0442\u044e\u0440\u044c\u043c\u0430-\u0441\u043e\u043b\u043d\u0446\u0435-\u043f\u0438\u043a\u0441\u0430\u0431\u0430\u0439-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/pozirk.online\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/\u0442\u044e\u0440\u044c\u043c\u0430-\u0441\u043e\u043b\u043d\u0446\u0435-\u043f\u0438\u043a\u0441\u0430\u0431\u0430\u0439.jpg 1280w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/>                        <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 labels online chats for relatives of people behind bars as \u201cextremist group\u201d<\/h3>\n        <div class=\"insert-block__descr\">April 9, Pozirk. The Committee for State Security (KGB) has designated 22 online chats for relatives of inmates of Belarus\u2019 pretrial detention centers and correctional institutions as an \u201cextremist group,\u201d which may result in criminal prosecution for thousands of people. &#8230;<\/div>\n        <a class=\"insert-block__btn-block\" href=\"\/en\/news\/182996\">\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>April 10, Pozirk. Police have summoned family members of inmates held in Belarusian prisons for questioning after the Committee for State Security (KGB) announced an \u201cextremist group\u201d designation for 22 online chats that they used for communication, MAYDAY.TEAM says on Telegram. Law enforcers from Minsk reportedly contacted some of the chat administrators, requesting information about [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":84,"featured_media":103524,"template":"","rubric":[16],"class_list":["post-183053","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>Rights defenders sound alarm over crackdown on relatives of Belarusian prisoners | Pozirk<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"April 10, Pozirk. Police have summoned family members of inmates held in Belarusian prisons for questioning after the Committee for State Security (KGB)\" \/>\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\/183053\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Rights defenders sound alarm over crackdown on relatives of Belarusian prisoners | Pozirk\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"April 10, Pozirk. 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