{"id":200407,"date":"2026-08-18T22:53:09","date_gmt":"2026-08-18T19:53:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/news\/200407\/"},"modified":"2026-08-18T22:53:11","modified_gmt":"2026-08-18T19:53:11","slug":"new-extremist-designations-harrassment-as-authorities-continue-persecuting-opponents","status":"publish","type":"articles","link":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/news\/200407\/","title":{"rendered":"New \u201cextremist\u201d designations, harrassment as authorities continue persecuting opponents"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p><strong>August 18, <\/strong><strong><em><strong><em>Pozirk<\/em><\/strong><\/em><\/strong><strong>. <\/strong>Sources in Belarus reported a new trial, \u201cextremist\u201d designations, pressure on current and former political prisoners and their families and other instances of politically motivated persecution in Belarus on August 17 and 18.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Below is Pozirk\u2019s recap:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>A judge of the Kastry\u010dnicki\u00a0District Court in Minsk on August 27 will start hearing a case against 41-year-old Via\u010das\u0142a\u016d Rusin, who stands accused of insulting a government official. The case against Rusin, who lives abroad, was opened on July 8, the Viasna Human Rights Center reported.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>The information ministry added six Instagram, Threads and TikTok accounts and three books to its list of \u201cextremist content.\u201d<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>At least 175 people have been subjected to politically motivated persecution over links to European Humanities University in Vilnius, including more than 110 students and their relatives in Belarus. The actual number of those affected may be much larger as authorities try to conceal repression and people are afraid to report it, the Viasna Human Rights Center reported.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Elderly women serving politically motivated prison terms, in Belarus, for example, may be held in inhumane conditions, complete isolation from outside world and access to medical services, UN Special Rapporteur on Violence against Women and Girls Reem Alsalem says in report for the upcoming 81st session of the UN General Assembly.\u00a0<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Authorities have imposed an asset freeze on Vilnius-based opposition politician\u00a0Pavie\u0142 Sieviaryniec, targeting his part of a Viciebsk\u00a0apartment where his mother lives. The crackdown may be due to a criminal case opened against Sieviaryniec as a key organizer of the exiled opposition\u2019s Freedom Day celebrations at the end of March, the Viasna Human Rights Center reported.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Three former Belarusian political prisoners, namely, Nobel Peace Prize laureate Ale\u015b Bialacki, opposition activist Miko\u0142a Dziadok and rock musician Ale\u015b Dzianisa\u016d, have been placed on Russia\u2019s wanted list.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Belarusian authorities have so far rejected Germany\u2019s objections to the closure of the Minsk office of the People\u2019s Union for Maintaining Military Graves (Volksbund Deutsche Kriegsgr\u00e4berf\u00fcrsorge, VDK), Berlin has said. Minsk closed the office in June 2025, citing legal irregularities, amid political tension between the two countries.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>A Lithuanian executive at a major Austrian-owned woodworking company in the Hrodna region was arrested in Belarus this past June for allegedly supplying defective components to Russia and Belarus. Vytautas Slankauskas, who was HS Belacon (Belacon Timber)\u2019s internal audit chief, had previously served for three years as the company\u2019s chief executive, <em>LRT <\/em>reported.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>The number of documented political prisoners in Belarus remained unchanged at 879, Viasna reported. The actual number of political prisoners in the country is much larger, as many cases go unreported.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>August 18, Pozirk. Sources in Belarus reported a new trial, \u201cextremist\u201d designations, pressure on current and former political prisoners and their families and other instances of politically motivated persecution in Belarus on August 17 and 18. Below is Pozirk\u2019s recap:<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":73,"featured_media":63993,"template":"","rubric":[16],"class_list":["post-200407","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>New \u201cextremist\u201d designations, harrassment as authorities continue persecuting opponents | Pozirk<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"August 18, Pozirk. 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