{"id":43741,"date":"2022-09-15T11:26:10","date_gmt":"2022-09-15T08:26:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/api.pozirk.online\/articles\/update-on-arrests-trials-criminal-proceedings\/"},"modified":"2026-02-24T20:29:13","modified_gmt":"2026-02-24T20:29:13","slug":"update-on-arrests-trials-criminal-proceedings","status":"publish","type":"articles","link":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/news\/43741\/","title":{"rendered":"Update on arrests, trials, criminal proceedings"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>\n <b>September 15, <span>BPN<\/span>. <\/b>New cases of politically-motivated persecution were documented in Belarus on September 14.\n<\/p>\n<p>\n <b>Arrests and releases<\/b>\n<\/p>\n<p>\n\t Ja\u016dhien Merkis, a freelance journalist from Homiel, was arrested and charged with calling for sanctions and harming national security, our sources confirmed. On September 13, police searched the journalist&#8217;s apartment and the home of his father, cardiologist Alaksandr Merkis. Police also confiscated a laptop and a smartphone during the search at the apartment of the journalist&#8217;s girlfriend, Sviat\u0142ana Ka\u015bcenka.\n<\/p>\n<p>\n\t On June 2, the police arrested Palina Pa\u0142avinka, the wife of journalist D\u017amitryj \u0141uk\u0161a accused in a politically-motivated case, the Viasna human rights group reported. She is accused of gross violations of public order and discrediting the state. The couple is now held at Detention Center No. 1 in Minsk. \u0141uk\u0161a was arrested in March after a search in his apartment. He had worked as a freelancer for the Kazakh TV channel Khabar 24 more recently.\n<\/p>\n<p>\n\t Minsk tour guide Aksana Mankievi\u010d was arrested for alleged participation in 2020 post-election protests. In November 2021, she had spent 15 days in jail.\n<\/p>\n<p>\n\t Dentist Ne\u0142a Sa\u016d\u010danka was arrested in Va\u016dkavysk for sharing posts critical of the government.\n<\/p>\n<p>\n\t Viktar Parchim\u010dyk was released after serving two years of restricted freedom for allegedly planting 510 screws near the office of the State Border Committee. According to Viasna, he was transferred from an open type correctional facility to a penal colony while serving his sentence.\n<\/p>\n<p>\n <b>Trials<\/b>\n<\/p>\n<p>\n\t Lawyer Michai\u0142 Makara\u016d and his wife and colleague Viktoryja Hulkova were jailed for 15 days for distributing extremist content, Viasna reported. Makara\u016d was among lawyers arrested on September 13 after the trial of anarchists. Police accused him of disclosing officials\u2019 personal data.\n<\/p>\n<p>\n\t Judge Valeryj Ramano\u016dski at the Hrodna Regional Court sentenced journalist Dzianis Iva\u0161yn to 13 years and 1 month in prison at a closed-door session, Viasna reported. Iva\u0161yn also has to pay a total of 22,800 rubels (nearly $9,000) in fines and damages. The reporter, declared a political prisoner by human rights defenders, was prosecuted under criminal articles against meddling in police work and treason.\n<\/p>\n<p>\n\t Ja\u016dhien Huka\u016d from Viciebsk was sentenced to 22 months in prison for insulting Alaksandr \u0141uka\u0161enka and former interior minister Juryj Karaje\u016d in Telegram chats.\n<\/p>\n<p>\n <b>Other instances of persecution<\/b>\n<\/p>\n<p>\n\t The Prosecutor General&#8217;s Office sent to the Minsk City Court a criminal case against a certain S., accused of inciting hatred. According to prosecutors, he collected personal data and other information linked to professional activities of over 16,000 public officials, security forces employees, judges, and military officers. He allegedly posted data on over 300 judges in Telegram channels deemed extremist. The Prosecutor General&#8217;s Office also said that the defendant shared data of nine policemen with the group that administered such channels.\n<\/p>\n<p>\n\t The Luniniec District Prosecutor&#8217;s Office forwarded to court a criminal case against a 58-year-old local resident H. accused of insulting public officials for posting online \u201ccynical\u201d comments about two pilots who died in a plane crash, the Prosecutor General&#8217;s Office said.\n<\/p>\n<p>\n\t As of September 15, human rights defenders identified at least 1,337 political prisoners.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>September 15, BPN. New cases of politically-motivated persecution were documented in Belarus on September 14. Arrests and releases Ja\u016dhien Merkis, a freelance journalist from Homiel, was arrested and charged with calling for sanctions and harming national security, our sources confirmed. On September 13, police searched the journalist&#8217;s apartment and the home of his father, cardiologist [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":75,"featured_media":0,"template":"","rubric":[16],"class_list":["post-43741","articles","type-articles","status-publish","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>Update on arrests, trials, criminal proceedings | Pozirk<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"September 15, BPN. New cases of politically-motivated persecution were documented in Belarus on September 14. 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