{"id":45210,"date":"2023-01-06T12:25:14","date_gmt":"2023-01-06T09:25:14","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\/45210\/","title":{"rendered":"Update on arrests, trials, politically-motivated persecution"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>\n <b>January 6, <span>BPN<\/span>.<\/b> New cases of politically-motivated persecution were documented in Belarus on January 5.\n<\/p>\n<p>\n\t Arrests and releases\n<\/p>\n<p>\n\t Police arrested Orthodox priest Dzianisij Kara\u015bcele\u016d from Minsk after a pro-government activist Volha Bondarava had complained that he had prayed for Ukrainians fighting Russia, Chry\u015bcijanskaja Vizija reported.\n<\/p>\n<p>\n\t Police also arrested actor Andrej Tryzuba\u016d, the Viasna Human Rights Center said. The reasons for his arrest remain unclear.\n<\/p>\n<p>\n\t Andrej Ciare\u0161ka from Hrodna is under arrest in for allegedly signing up to the opposition&#8217;s Pieramoha Plan, following opposition Telegram channels and sharing content with them, Viasna reported.\n<\/p>\n<p>\n\t IT professional Pavie\u0142 Kutas was arrested in Minsk for online comments.\n<\/p>\n<p>\n\t Authorities released Ta\u0107ciana \u0179viarko after she had served in full her 18-month prison term for allegedly insulting Alaksandr \u0141uka\u0161enka and public officials online, <span>Dissidentby<\/span> reported. At the time of her trial, she had been on maternity leave. Human rights groups considered her a political prisoner.\n<\/p>\n<p>\n\t Authorities also released Natalla Nikicina, a doctor with 30 years of experience, after she had served 13 months in prison for online comments, Viasna said.\n<\/p>\n<p>\n\t Criminal proceedings\n<\/p>\n<p>\n\t Authorities sentenced Hienad\u017a Fiadyni\u010d, leader of the outlawed electronic trade union and the union&#8217;s acting chair Vasil Bierasnie\u016d to nine years in prison each; and activist&nbsp;Vac\u0142a\u016d&nbsp;Are\u0161ka, to eight years, Viasna said. They faced charges of inciting hatred, calling for sanctions and creating and running an extremist group.\n<\/p>\n<p>\n\t The trial of Ale\u015b Bialacki, a Nobel Peace Prize winner and Viasna\u2019s leader, and his associates Valancin Stefanovi\u010d, U\u0142adzimir \u0141abkovi\u010d and \u0179micier Sa\u0142a\u016djo\u016d opened at the Leninski District Court in Minsk. Sa\u0142a\u016djo\u016d is tried in absentia as he has fled the country. Authorities accuse the human rights defenders of smuggling cash across the border and financing protests but the case is widely regarded as politically motivated.\n<\/p>\n<p>\n\t The trial of jailed reporter Andrzej Poczobut (Andrej Pa\u010dobut), scheduled to open at the Hrodna Regional Court on January 9, was postponed again, this time to January 16, the Belarusian Association of Journalists said. Authorities accuse him of inciting hatred and calling for sanctions against Belarus.\n<\/p>\n<p>\n\t Extremist list updates\n<\/p>\n<p>\n\t Authorities blacklisted several social media accounts, including the <span>Pol Pervogo<\/span> Telegram channel, a parody of \u0141uka\u0161enka&#8217;s press office&#8217;s unofficial channel, <span>BPN<\/span> reported.\n<\/p>\n<p>\n\t As of January 6, human rights defenders identified at least 1,444 political prisoners.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>January 6, BPN. New cases of politically-motivated persecution were documented in Belarus on January 5. Arrests and releases Police arrested Orthodox priest Dzianisij Kara\u015bcele\u016d from Minsk after a pro-government activist Volha Bondarava had complained that he had prayed for Ukrainians fighting Russia, Chry\u015bcijanskaja Vizija reported. Police also arrested actor Andrej Tryzuba\u016d, the Viasna Human Rights [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":75,"featured_media":0,"template":"","rubric":[16],"class_list":["post-45210","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=\"January 6, BPN. New cases of politically-motivated persecution were documented in Belarus on January 5. 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