{"id":2916,"date":"2023-09-26T12:05:00","date_gmt":"2023-09-26T09:05:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/api.pozirk.online\/?post_type=articles&p=2916"},"modified":"2026-03-09T20:10:49","modified_gmt":"2026-03-09T20:10:49","slug":"update-on-arrests-trials-politically-motivated-persecution-27","status":"publish","type":"articles","link":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/news\/2916\/","title":{"rendered":"Update on arrests, trials, politically-motivated persecution"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

September 26,\u00a0Pozirk<\/em>.\u00a0<\/strong>New cases of politically-motivated persecution were documented in Belarus from September 23 to 25 with unabated reprisals targeting dissenters and participants of 2020 post-election protests.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Arrests<\/p>\n\n\n\n

On September 25, police arrested a man from Kobryn, Brest region, the Viasna Human Rights Center said. He was reportedly under police observation following the July 10 police raid that disrupted a theatre show in a local village.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Pavie\u0142 Klima\u0161e\u016dski is under arrest in Lida, Hrodna region, for allegedly subscribing to opposition Telegram chats and sharing opposition content on his social media, a pro-government source said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Alaksandar Aniskevi\u010d from Lida admitted in a police video to warning his colleague about the possible arrest before being arrested himself. A judge fined him 1,110 rubels ($340) and ruled to confiscate his smartphone.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

On September 13, a judge in Viciebsk sentenced software engineer Alaksiej Siadziaka to seven days in jail for sharing opposition content, the Viciebsk branch of Viasna said. On the next day, lab worker Hienad\u017a Va\u017amiciel was jailed for 15 days on extremism-related charges in Navapo\u0142ack, Viciebsk region.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Alena Kavalenka, ex-wife of Viciebsk activist Siarhiej Kavalenka, was fined 2,590 rubels (over $790) over 2020 protest pictures that she posted on Vkontakte, the Viciebsk branch of Viasna said. The woman who is currently based abroad, was accused of breaking regulations governing mass events.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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

On August 17, a judge in Brest sentenced D\u017amitryj Siamak to three months of arrest and ruled to confiscate his smartphone over an online comment allegedly insulting the education minister, Viasna said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The penal colony administration has placed Dzianis Dzikun, currently serving a 23-year sentence, in the internal prison, Mediazona<\/em> reported. He has been held incommunicado for several months. The man is imprisoned for an alleged attempt to destroy a railway relay cabinet a few days after Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 to stop the movement of Russian military equipment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

D\u017amitryj Sielviastruk, a sports blogger and former journalist with the state-run newspaper Narodnaya Gazeta<\/em>, will go on trial in Minsk on September 27 on extremism-related charges, BPN<\/em> reported.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Judge Ja\u016dhien Buruna\u016d in Viciebsk sentenced freelance cameraman Via\u010das\u0142a\u016d \u0141azara\u016d to five and a half years in prison and his wife Ta\u0107ciana Py\u0107ko, to three years, the Belarusian Association of Journalists (BAJ) reported. Authorities persecuted the couple for their cooperation with Belsat TV<\/em>, a Warsaw-based television station labeled extremist in Belarus.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u015aviat\u0142ana Bakanava in Baranavi\u010dy, Brest region, was given one year in prison for liking a social media post allegedly insulting Alaksandar \u0141uka\u0161enka, Viasna said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A judge in Horki, Mahilo\u016d region, sentenced jailed Via\u010das\u0142a\u016d Malej\u010duk to two more years in prison for allegedly disobeying prison administration, Viasna said. He is currently serving a 22-year prison term for allegedly planning a terrorist attack. Rights groups consider him a political prisoner.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Aleh Homi\u010d, Andrej Sidarenka, Ta\u0107ciana Dzeraviankina, Alaksandar Kojpi\u0161, Valeryj Babicki and Iryna Ku\u010dynskaja are on trial in Minsk on charges of gross violations of public order and tax evasion, Viasna said. Authorities have not disclosed any details of the case.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A judge in \u017d\u0142obin, Homiel region, sentenced senior fire rescuer Artur Pan\u010danka and enlisted soldier Maksim A\u016dsiannika\u016d to three months in military detention for participating in 2020 protests, Viasna reported.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Volha Kuran\u010dyk went on trial in Hrodna on charges of insulting an official, a Telegram channel monitoring politically-motivated persecution in Hrodna and the Hrodna region reported.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Alaksandar Ju\u0161kievi\u010d has been on trial in Hrodna since September 25, the same Telegram channel said. Authorities accuse him of inciting hatred.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Vadzim Smale\u016dski in Brest was found guilty of insulting \u0141uka\u0161enka, but authorities did not disclose the verdict, Viasna said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Journalist Ja\u016dhien Mierkis, sentenced to four years in prison on extremism-related charges, will face a trial in Homiel on September 28, reform.by reported. The court schedule says that the judge will consider \u201cother matters\u201d related to his sentence.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Extremist content update<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Authorities blacklisted a number of opposition websites and social media pages as extremist content, including the alternativaby.net<\/em>, Belarus. Wired <\/em>Telegram channel, and the sprava161<\/em> and long_live_belarus2020<\/em> Instagram accounts, the information ministry said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

New political prisoners<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Rights groups declared Michai\u0142 \u0141apuno\u016d, sentenced to four consecutive jail terms on charges of sharing opposition content, a political prisoner. His son Mikita Za\u0142ataro\u016d is currently serving four and a half years in prison on charges widely seen as politically motivated.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As of September 26, human rights defenders identified at least 1,485 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":"

September 26,\u00a0Pozirk.\u00a0New cases of politically-motivated persecution were documented in Belarus from September 23 to 25 with unabated reprisals targeting dissenters and participants of 2020 post-election protests. Arrests On September 25, police arrested a man from Kobryn, Brest region, the Viasna Human Rights Center said. He was reportedly under police observation following the July 10 police […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":83,"featured_media":0,"template":"","rubric":[14],"class_list":["post-2916","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=\"September 26,\u00a0Pozirk.\u00a0New cases of politically-motivated persecution were documented in Belarus from September 23 to 25 with unabated reprisals targeting\" \/>\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\/2916\/\" \/>\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\" \/>\n<meta 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