{"id":198063,"date":"2026-07-31T16:22:26","date_gmt":"2026-07-31T13:22:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/news\/198063\/"},"modified":"2026-07-31T16:22:28","modified_gmt":"2026-07-31T13:22:28","slug":"russians-arrested-at-rainbow-family-event-released-banned-from-entering-belarus-reports","status":"publish","type":"articles","link":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/news\/198063\/","title":{"rendered":"Russians arrested at Rainbow Family event released, banned from entering Belarus \u2013 reports"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

July 31, Pozirk.<\/em> <\/strong>Belarusian authorities released Russian nationals arrested after a police raid on the Rainbow Family event in Rasony, Viciebsk region, after holding them in detention for a day, the Viasna Human Rights Center said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

They were reportedly banned from entering Belarus for one year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The interior ministry claimed that participants in the event were displaying religious symbols and staying naked in front of children.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

D\u017amitryj Ziacie\u016d, a spokesman for the regional police department, said that police, who were responding to a complaint about a noisy mass event near Lake Bie\u0142aje, found more than 300 people at the scene, including foreigners, teenagers and little children. Police photos of the site feature pitched tents, burning fires, symbols of \u201cvarious religious movements,\u201d including an image of Hindu goddess Kali and musical instruments. According to Ziacie\u016d, participants were playing loud music and partying noisily, with \u201cmany of them naked in front of little children.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

They have been charged under the Administrative Code with holding an unsanctioned mass event and may be punished with fines or short jail terms. The ministry did not disclose the number of arrested people, merely reporting that police had arrested two \u201corganizers,\u201d namely, a 23-year-old woman and a 52-year-old man.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Viciebsk regional branch of the Viasna Human Rights Center reported two hours earlier that police arrested about 350 people, including entire families, during the raid.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Following the arrests in a tent camp, several children spent the night in a temporary detention center alongside adults, the report said. Law enforcers accused the arrested of participating in an unauthorized mass event and warned that their cases would be heard in courts within two months.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Belarus\u2019 restrictive legislation bans any unauthorized gatherings.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Rainbow Family movement originated in the United States in the 1970s and was largely inspired by the Woodstock Festival. Its members organize non-commercial, multi-day gatherings in nature, live in tent camps, run communal kitchens and make decisions by consensus.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A similar incident occurred in Viciebsk last year, when police arrested more than 300 Sri Lankan students who were celebrating New Year and classified their gathering as an unauthorized mass event.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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