{"id":44938,"date":"2022-12-16T12:03:08","date_gmt":"2022-12-16T09:03:08","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\/44938\/","title":{"rendered":"Update on arrests, trials, politically-motivated persecution"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><b>December 16, <span>BPN.<\/span><\/b> New cases of politically-motivated persecution were documented in Belarus on December 15.<\/p>\n<p> Arrests<\/p>\n<p> Security forces in Minsk arrested prominent athlete Nadzieja Astap\u010duk, the Strana Dlya Zhizni foundation said. They placed her in a detention center on Akre\u015bcina Street in the Belarusian capital. Her supporters were not allowed to pass her a parcel. It is unclear whether she has been charged.<\/p>\n<p> Law enforcers in \u017d\u0142obin arrested five people suspected of participating in 2020 protests, <span>Na\u0161a Niva<\/span> reported. They are: Maryna Lachnovi\u010d, Ta\u0107ciana Dziem\u010danka, Vadzim Kirjana\u016d, Nasta\u015bsia Tatarynava and Kiry\u0142 Kamaro\u016d. Criminal cases were opened.<\/p>\n<p> On December 13, police arrested a Category 2 disabled person who had heart surgery and a stroke, Pinsk resident Mika\u0142aj Klimovi\u010d, for sharing an anti-war post comparing the Russian president to Hitler. Klimovi\u010d was remanded in custody before&nbsp;trial, but as his state deteriorated, an ambulance took him to a clinic. The suspect was released from the hospital on December 14. Charged with disseminating \u201cextremist\u201d content, he would go on trial on December 23.<\/p>\n<p> Police arrested musician and art manager U\u0142adzimir Bu\u0142a\u016dski in Viciebsk. This was his fifth arrest since 2020, Viasna Viciebsk reported. He may be suspected of tax evasion.<\/p>\n<p> The Prosecutor General\u2019s Office reports that prosecutors in Brest sent to jail a 38-year-old man who, \u201cin a state of intoxication,\u201d ripped the official flag off a railway station on the evening of December 10.<\/p>\n<p> Criminal cases<\/p>\n<p> New criminal cases have been opened against political prisoners U\u0142adzimir Hundar, (disabled, lost his leg; 18 years in prison) and Pavie\u0142 Rezanovi\u010d (19 years in prison), the defendants in the high-profile A\u016dtuchovi\u010d case, for supposedly insulting a prosecutor during the trial. The report on Rezanovi\u010d has not been verified, the Viasna Human Rights Center says.<\/p>\n<p> Trials<\/p>\n<p> Activists learned that on November 29, a judge sentenced husband and wife Viktar and Iryna Arecha\u016d to two years of restricted freedom, a type of home confinement. The Minsk residents were accused of participating in a protest march based on a photo on Viktar Arecha\u016d\u2019s smartphone. Before the trial, the husband was held in custody, and the wife was released on bail of 8,000 rubels (some $3,200), Viasna reported.<\/p>\n<p> A judge sentenced Mikita Saida\u016d, 19, to two-and-a-half years of restricted freedom for participating in a protest in August 2020 and drug trafficking, Viasna reported.<\/p>\n<p> Prison conditions<\/p>\n<p> Anarchists Mikita Jemialjana\u016d (six years in prison) and Siarhiej Ramana\u016d (20 years in prison), recognized as political prisoners, fear for their lives in Va\u016dkavysk\u2019s Correctional Colony No. 11. The administration exerts&nbsp;\u201cgreat pressure\u201d on them, <span>dissidentby <\/span>reported. It regularly places them in a punishment cell or an internal prison, and bars them from receiving letters.<\/p>\n<p> Release<\/p>\n<p> Vital Prochara\u016d, 19, was freed after serving a two-year sentence in a colony. He had been charged with throwing a stone at a police wagon. Police beat him badly after the arrest, <span>dissidentby<\/span> reported.<\/p>\n<p>As of December 16, human rights defenders identified at least 1,432 political prisoners.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>December 16, BPN. New cases of politically-motivated persecution were documented in Belarus on December 15. Arrests Security forces in Minsk arrested prominent athlete Nadzieja Astap\u010duk, the Strana Dlya Zhizni foundation said. They placed her in a detention center on Akre\u015bcina Street in the Belarusian capital. Her supporters were not allowed to pass her a parcel. [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":75,"featured_media":0,"template":"","rubric":[16],"class_list":["post-44938","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=\"December 16, BPN. New cases of politically-motivated persecution were documented in Belarus on December 15. 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