{"id":44509,"date":"2022-11-16T12:18:54","date_gmt":"2022-11-16T09:18:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/api.pozirk.online\/articles\/update-on-arrests-trials-politically-motivated-persecution\/"},"modified":"2026-02-24T20:29:13","modified_gmt":"2026-02-24T20:29:13","slug":"update-on-arrests-trials-politically-motivated-persecution","status":"publish","type":"articles","link":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/news\/44509\/","title":{"rendered":"Update on arrests, trials, politically-motivated persecution"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>\n <b>November 16, <span>BPN<\/span>. <\/b>New cases of politically-motivated persecution were documented in Belarus on November 15.\n<\/p>\n<p>\n\t Arrests\n<\/p>\n<p>\n\t Police arrested engineer Anton Chatkievi\u010d from Mazyr, Homiel region, for online comments, pro-government sources reported. Investigators also suspect him of forming an extremist group.\n<\/p>\n<p>\n\t Advertising agency head Pavie\u0142 Bielika\u016d and his wife are under arrest in Minsk presumably in connection with the police crackdown on <span>Chernaya Kniga Belarusi <\/span>(Eng.: Black Book of Belarus), an online project exposing the identities of security officers who mistreated and brutalized peaceful protesters.\n<\/p>\n<p>\n\t Viciebsk police questioned local journalist \u017dana \u017dalevi\u010d over her two-years old social media posts. She was released but is to stand trial on November 18, the Viciebsk branch of the Viasna Human Rights Center reported.\n<\/p>\n<p>\n\t Police arrested D\u017amitryj Sciapana\u016d on suspicion that he administered a protest Telegram chat that allegedly ran calls to violence against policemen, a pro-government source said.\n<\/p>\n<p>\n\t Criminal persecution\n<\/p>\n<p>\n\t Authorities charged five members of Sajuz Bie\u0142aruskaha Nacyanalnaha \u0160\u010dyta (Eng. Union of the Belarusian National Shield) with organizing and running an extremist group.\n<\/p>\n<p>\n\t The Committee for State Security (KGB) accused a cleaning company from Minsk of tax evasion, <span>Belarus 1 <\/span>TV channel reported. Its CEO Alena Cichanava and several employees are under arrest. Authorities also accused Cichanava of ties with U.S. foundations and the Slovak interior ministry.\n<\/p>\n<p>\n\t Criminal proceedings\n<\/p>\n<p>\n\t A court in Lida, Hrodna region, sentenced D\u017amitryj Miad\u017aviedzki to three years in prison on charges of participating in protests, insulting \u0141uka\u0161enka, and damaging railroad equipment, Viasna reported. Sabotage on the Belarusian railway started after the Russian invasion of Ukraine on February 24 as a form of antiwar protest.\n<\/p>\n<p>\n\t The Minsk Regional Court sentenced trade unionist Alaksandr Mi\u0161uk to two and a half years in prison in connection with a speech he had delivered at a protest rally in 2020, the Belarusian Independent Trade Union reported.\n<\/p>\n<p>\n\t Jana Ma\u0142a\u0161, another trade union activist, received an 18-months prison sentence for participating in protests, Viasna said. A court in Lida handed down the same sentence on Valeryj Tumilevi\u010d for allegedly insulting \u0141uka\u0161enka. Human rights defenders declared Mi\u0161uk, Ma\u0142a\u0161, and Tumilevi\u010d political prisoners.\n<\/p>\n<p>\n\t Andrej Kasparovi\u010d will serve two years of restricted freedom in an open-type correctional facility for insulting \u0141uka\u0161enka and abusing state symbols.\n<\/p>\n<p>\n\t The Minsk City Court is hearing behind closed doors a case against former investigator Ja\u00fahien Ju\u0161kievi\u010d, who founded ByChange project to assist police officers who resigned in protest against human rights abuses. Ju\u0161kievi\u010d faces a number of criminal charges, including staging riots and inciting hatred.\n<\/p>\n<p>\n\t Mikita Stara\u017eenka, another former investigator, is also on trial at the same court for allegedly sharing police officers\u2019 personal data with opposition Telegram channels.\n<\/p>\n<p>\n\t Journalist and Polish minority activist Andrzej Poczobut will go on trial in Hrodna on November 28 on charges of inciting hatred.\n<\/p>\n<p>\n\t Content blacklisted as extremist\n<\/p>\n<p>\n\t Belarusian courts have blacklisted several local online communities from Pinsk, Brest region, and Voranava, Hrodna region, as extremist content.\n<\/p>\n<p>\n\t As of November 16, human rights defenders identified at least 1,421 political prisoners.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>November 16, BPN. New cases of politically-motivated persecution were documented in Belarus on November 15. Arrests Police arrested engineer Anton Chatkievi\u010d from Mazyr, Homiel region, for online comments, pro-government sources reported. Investigators also suspect him of forming an extremist group. Advertising agency head Pavie\u0142 Bielika\u016d and his wife are under arrest in Minsk presumably in [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":75,"featured_media":0,"template":"","rubric":[16],"class_list":["post-44509","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, politically-motivated persecution | Pozirk<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"November 16, BPN. New cases of politically-motivated persecution were documented in Belarus on November 15. 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