{"id":2495,"date":"2023-08-22T11:45:00","date_gmt":"2023-08-22T08:45:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/api.pozirk.online\/?post_type=articles&p=2495"},"modified":"2026-03-09T20:10:49","modified_gmt":"2026-03-09T20:10:49","slug":"update-on-arrests-trials-politically-motivated-persecution-23","status":"publish","type":"articles","link":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/news\/2495\/","title":{"rendered":"Update on arrests, trials, politically-motivated persecution"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

August 22, BPN<\/em>.<\/strong> New cases of politically-motivated persecution were documented in Belarus between August 19 and 21 as authorities kept punishing Belarusians for online activities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Arrested and released<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Last week, Committee for State Security (KGB) agents briefly detained Alaksiej Ka\u015bciu\u0161kin and Volha Si\u0142kova in Mahilo\u016d, MAYDAY TEAM reported.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Alaksiej A\u016ddzieje\u016d, Kaciaryna Zai\u010dkava, Alaksandar Savicki and Maksim Kalini\u010danka were arrested during a police raid in \u017d\u0142obin, Homiel region, pro-government channels said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

D\u017amitryj Ciare\u0161\u010danka and Ivan Brazinski are under arrest in Minsk for allegedly following opposition Telegram channels, Na\u0161a Niva<\/em> reported. Both work for a state-run land management company. In a police video, Ciare\u0161\u010danka admitted to spreading “protest moods” at work in 2020. Police also arrested Brazinski’s son U\u0142adzis\u0142a\u016d on charges of participating in protests.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hrodna police arrested a man for a small white-red-white flag in his car and jailed him for 10 days after finding subscriptions to opposition content on his smartphone, the Pravo Imeyut<\/em> Telegram channel reported. Earlier he had served a jail term for an alleged offense linked to protests.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Authorities released Dzianis Ivano\u016d on July 29 after he had served two years of restricted freedom in an open-type correctional facility for allegedly insulting Alaksandar \u0141uka\u0161enka, the Viasna Human Rights Center reported.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Criminal proceedings<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Minsk City Court opened a trial against Vadzim Baha\u016dko\u016d, Maksim Zuje\u016d, Alaksandar Naprejenka and Siarhiej Rabu\u0161ka accused of assaulting Belarusian embassy staff in London, the electronic court schedule says. All four face charges of inciting hatred and damaging property. Zuje\u016d and Baha\u016dko\u016d face additional charges of violence against officials. All defendants are based outside Belarus and are tried in absentia.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A judge in Baranavi\u010dy, Brest region, sentenced Andrej Ha\u0142upka to one year in prison over four likes on social media allegedly insulting \u0141uka\u0161enka, Viasna reported.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A judge ordered compulsory psychiatric treatment for Ihar Papo\u016d, Viasna said noting that the ruling was made on May 12. He was tried on charges of insulting \u0141uka\u0161enka and officials and threatening violence against police. On August 4, authorities also blacklisted him as an individual “involved in extremist activities.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Arciom Labied\u017aka, son of prominent exiled Belarusian opposition politician Anatol Labied\u017aka, went on trial in Minsk on August 21, BPN<\/em> reported. He is accused of funding extremist activities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Other instances of persecution<\/p>\n\n\n\n

D\u017amitryj Abramuk, who left Belarus after serving a politically-motivated sentence, is facing new extremism-related charges, Viasna said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As of August 22, human rights defenders identified at least 1,492 political prisoners but the real number is considerably higher because many cases go undocumented. Opposition sources estimate the number of political prisoners at around 5,000.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

August 22, BPN. New cases of politically-motivated persecution were documented in Belarus between August 19 and 21 as authorities kept punishing Belarusians for online activities. Arrested and released Last week, Committee for State Security (KGB) agents briefly detained Alaksiej Ka\u015bciu\u0161kin and Volha Si\u0142kova in Mahilo\u016d, MAYDAY TEAM reported. Alaksiej A\u016ddzieje\u016d, Kaciaryna Zai\u010dkava, Alaksandar Savicki and Maksim Kalini\u010danka […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":83,"featured_media":0,"template":"","rubric":[14],"class_list":["post-2495","articles","type-articles","status-publish","hentry","rubric-politics"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nUpdate on arrests, trials, politically-motivated persecution | Pozirk<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"August 22, BPN. New cases of politically-motivated persecution were documented in Belarus between August 19 and 21 as authorities kept punishing\" \/>\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\/2495\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Update on arrests, trials, politically-motivated persecution | Pozirk\" 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