{"id":44982,"date":"2022-12-20T12:00:10","date_gmt":"2022-12-20T09:00:10","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\/44982\/","title":{"rendered":"Update on arrests, trials, politically-motivated persecution"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>\n <b>December 20, <span>BPN<\/span>.<\/b> New cases of politically-motivated persecution were documented in Belarus on December 19.\n<\/p>\n<p>\n\t Arrests\n<\/p>\n<p>\n\t Police arrested journalist and writer Siarhiej \u010cyhryn over allegedly reposted opposition content, <span>BPN<\/span> reported. A court jailed him for seven days.\n<\/p>\n<p>\n\t Police also arrested a married couple who returned to Belarus after living abroad for two years on suspicion of participating in 2020 protests, a pro-government source said.\n<\/p>\n<p>\n\t Trials in absentia\n<\/p>\n<p>\n\t Authorities started special proceedings against Valeryj Capka\u0142a, former presidential hopeful and ex-diplomat, <span>BPN<\/span> reported. Capka\u0142a who fled Belarus for fear of arrest faces a number of criminal charges. These include creating and running an extremist group, discrediting Belarus, taking bribes, inciting hatred and insulting Alaksandr \u0141uka\u0161enka.\n<\/p>\n<p>\n\t The Minsk City Court also started special proceedings against Alaksandra Hierasimenia and Alaksandr Apiejkin, founders of the Belarusian Sports Solidarity Foundation. Authorities accuse them of calling for sanctions and harming national security. Both left Belarus for fear of political persecution.\n<\/p>\n<p>\n\t Criminal proceedings\n<\/p>\n<p>\n\t A court in Homiel scheduled the trial of Ta\u0107ciana Kurylina, suspected of administering opposition chats, for December 28, the Viasna Human Rights Center reported. Kurylina stayed abroad but the police lured her back to Belarus. She faces up to 15 years in prison if convicted.\n<\/p>\n<p>\n\t A court sentenced Hienad\u017a Barys, 55, an Afghanistan war veteran, to three years of restricted freedom at an open-type correctional facility. He was accused of insulting \u0141uka\u0161enka and abusing state symbols.\n<\/p>\n<p>\n\t Alaksandr Sinica, 19, is to serve 18 months in prison for opposition graffiti.\n<\/p>\n<p>\n\t Termination of persecution\n<\/p>\n<p>\n\t Police dropped criminal charges against journalist Ale\u015b Da\u0161\u010dynski, the Belarusian Association of Journalists reported. Police returned his confiscated belongings and released him from under house arrest.&nbsp;\n<\/p>\n<p>\n\t As of December 20, human rights defenders identified at least 1,436 political prisoners.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>December 20, BPN. New cases of politically-motivated persecution were documented in Belarus on December 19. Arrests Police arrested journalist and writer Siarhiej \u010cyhryn over allegedly reposted opposition content, BPN reported. A court jailed him for seven days. Police also arrested a married couple who returned to Belarus after living abroad for two years on suspicion [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":75,"featured_media":0,"template":"","rubric":[16],"class_list":["post-44982","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 20, BPN. New cases of politically-motivated persecution were documented in Belarus on December 19. 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