{"id":47063,"date":"2023-05-31T11:55:41","date_gmt":"2023-05-31T08:55:41","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\/47063\/","title":{"rendered":"Update on arrests, trials, politically-motivated persecution"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>\n <b>May 31, <span>BPN<\/span>.<\/b> New cases of politically-motivated persecution were documented in Belarus on May 30 as authorities focused on punishing dissenters and suppressing online activities.\n<\/p>\n<p>\n\t Arrested and released\n<\/p>\n<p>\n\t Police arrested Andrej Husara\u016d, head of the Husara\u016d marketing agency, for allegedly sharing links to opposition content on his social media, pro-government Telegram channels said. His current whereabouts and charges against him remain unclear.\n<\/p>\n<p>\n\t Authorities released Iryna Pryhava, 57, who had served 18 months in prison for protest and anti-war graffiti and hanging white-red-white flags and yellow and blue ribbons, the Viasna Human Rights Center said.\n<\/p>\n<p>\n\t Andrej \u0160a\u016d\u010duk and Alaksandr \u0160a\u016dco\u016d were released after they had served two-and-a-half-year prison terms for participation in 2020 protests, the Homiel branch of Viasna said.\n<\/p>\n<p>\n\t Viktar Siado\u016d, arrested in October 2020 and sentenced to three years in prison over protests, was also released.\n<\/p>\n<p>\n\t Criminal proceedings\n<\/p>\n<p>\n\t The Homiel Regional Court sentenced journalist Ja\u016dhien Mierkis to four years in prison on extremism-related charges, the Belarusian Association of Journalists (BAJ) reported.\n<\/p>\n<p>\n\t The same court sentenced Hleb Vieta\u0161kin to five years of restricted freedom in home confinement on charges of inciting hatred and participating in protests, Viasna reported. He has been in custody since late November 2022.\n<\/p>\n<p>\n\t Athlete Z\u0142ata Filipenka, arrested in late March, went on trial at a district court in Minsk, Viasna reported. The prosecutor accused her of participating in protests.\n<\/p>\n<p>\n\t In early May, a judge in Lachavi\u010dy, Brest region, sentenced Siarhiej Lebiadzinski to a fine and two years of restricted freedom in home confinement for insulting a public official in online comments that he allegedly posted in 2020. The court also ordered him to pay damages to the alleged victim, according to Viasna.&nbsp;\n<\/p>\n<p>\n\t A district court in Minsk sentenced Alesia \u017delazo\u016dskaja to three years of restricted freedom in home confinement for allegedly insulting Alaksandr \u0141uka\u0161enka, Viasna reported.\n<\/p>\n<p>\n\t Alaksandra Sa\u0142aninka, Alaksiej Sachar, Radzivon Baravy and U\u0142adzis\u0142a\u016d \u0141ahucienka were given two-and-a-half-year restricted freedom terms; Alina Horava, one year; Alaksiej Cyhano\u016d, two years. Authorities persecuted them all for participation in protests, according to Viasna.\n<\/p>\n<p>\n\t Human rights defender Anastasija \u0141ojka will go on trial in Minsk on June 13, <span>BPN<\/span> reported. She has been in custody since late October 2022 and faces criminal charges.\n<\/p>\n<p>\n\t Jailed student Andrej Mas\u0142a\u016d will go on a new trial in Babrujsk, Mahilo\u016d region, on June 6, for allegedly disobeying prison authorities, Viasna reported. He is currently serving a two-and-a-half-year prison term for his alleged intention to join a foreign army, Viasna reported.\n<\/p>\n<p>\n\t The case against journalist \u0141arysa \u0160\u010dyrakova was transferred to court, <span>BPN<\/span> reported. Her family said she might be charged with discrediting the state.\n<\/p>\n<p>\n\t Extremist list updates\n<\/p>\n<p>\n\t Belarusian courts blacklisted the social media pages of former presidential hopeful Valer Capka\u0142a as well as the Instagram page of his wife Vieranika with 25,600 followers as extremist content, <span>BPN<\/span> reported.\n<\/p>\n<p>\n\t Other blacklisted content includes several opposition social media groups, songs by FaceOFF and the band&#8217;s Vkontakte community with some 900 participants.\n<\/p>\n<p>\n\t Other instances of persecution\n<\/p>\n<p>\n\t Authorities blocked access to the IT news website <span>Dev.by<\/span>, BAJ reported.\n<\/p>\n<p>\n\t The Ministry of Justice revoked the licenses of four lawyers citing misdemeanors incompatible with their profession, <span>BPN<\/span> reported. Two of them, Juryj Kozika\u016d and Arciom Siamjana\u016d, defended prominent opposition activists currently imprisoned on charges widely seen as politically motivated.\n<\/p>\n<p>\n\t As of May 31, human rights defenders identified at least 1,496 political prisoners but the real number is considerably higher because many cases go undocumented. Opposition sources estimate the number of political prisoners at around 5,000.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>May 31, BPN. New cases of politically-motivated persecution were documented in Belarus on May 30 as authorities focused on punishing dissenters and suppressing online activities. Arrested and released Police arrested Andrej Husara\u016d, head of the Husara\u016d marketing agency, for allegedly sharing links to opposition content on his social media, pro-government Telegram channels said. His current [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":75,"featured_media":0,"template":"","rubric":[16],"class_list":["post-47063","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=\"May 31, BPN. New cases of politically-motivated persecution were documented in Belarus on May 30 as authorities focused on punishing dissenters and\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/news\/47063\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Update on arrests, trials, politically-motivated persecution | Pozirk\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"May 31, BPN. New cases of politically-motivated persecution were documented in Belarus on May 30 as authorities focused on punishing dissenters and\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/news\/47063\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Pozirk\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/pozirkonline\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-02-24T20:29:13+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@Pozirk_online\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"NewsArticle\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/news\/47063\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/news\/47063\/\"},\"headline\":\"Update on arrests, trials, politically-motivated persecution\",\"datePublished\":\"2023-05-31T08:55:41+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-02-24T20:29:13+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/news\/47063\/\"},\"wordCount\":580,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/#organization\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/news\/47063\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/news\/47063\/\",\"name\":\"Update on arrests, trials, politically-motivated persecution | Pozirk\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2023-05-31T08:55:41+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-02-24T20:29:13+00:00\",\"description\":\"May 31, BPN. New cases of politically-motivated persecution were documented in Belarus on May 30 as authorities focused on punishing dissenters and\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/news\/47063\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/news\/47063\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/news\/47063\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Update on arrests, trials, politically-motivated persecution\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/\",\"name\":\"Pozirk\",\"description\":\"\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/#organization\",\"name\":\"Pozirk\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/cropped-Logo_color_512.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/cropped-Logo_color_512.png\",\"width\":512,\"height\":512,\"caption\":\"Pozirk\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/pozirkonline\/\",\"https:\/\/x.com\/Pozirk_online\"]}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Update on arrests, trials, politically-motivated persecution | Pozirk","description":"May 31, BPN. New cases of politically-motivated persecution were documented in Belarus on May 30 as authorities focused on punishing dissenters and","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/news\/47063\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Update on arrests, trials, politically-motivated persecution | Pozirk","og_description":"May 31, BPN. New cases of politically-motivated persecution were documented in Belarus on May 30 as authorities focused on punishing dissenters and","og_url":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/news\/47063\/","og_site_name":"Pozirk","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/pozirkonline\/","article_modified_time":"2026-02-24T20:29:13+00:00","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_site":"@Pozirk_online","twitter_misc":{"Est. reading time":"3 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/news\/47063\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/news\/47063\/"},"headline":"Update on arrests, trials, politically-motivated persecution","datePublished":"2023-05-31T08:55:41+00:00","dateModified":"2026-02-24T20:29:13+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/news\/47063\/"},"wordCount":580,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/#organization"},"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/news\/47063\/","url":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/news\/47063\/","name":"Update on arrests, trials, politically-motivated persecution | Pozirk","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/#website"},"datePublished":"2023-05-31T08:55:41+00:00","dateModified":"2026-02-24T20:29:13+00:00","description":"May 31, BPN. New cases of politically-motivated persecution were documented in Belarus on May 30 as authorities focused on punishing dissenters and","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/news\/47063\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/news\/47063\/"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/news\/47063\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Update on arrests, trials, politically-motivated persecution"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/#website","url":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/","name":"Pozirk","description":"","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/#organization","name":"Pozirk","url":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/cropped-Logo_color_512.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/cropped-Logo_color_512.png","width":512,"height":512,"caption":"Pozirk"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/pozirkonline\/","https:\/\/x.com\/Pozirk_online"]}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/articles\/47063","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/articles"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/articles"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/75"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=47063"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"rubric","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/rubric?post=47063"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}