{"id":47080,"date":"2023-06-01T12:12:19","date_gmt":"2023-06-01T09:12:19","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\/47080\/","title":{"rendered":"Update on arrests, trials, politically-motivated persecution"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>\n <b>June 1, <span>BPN<\/span>.<\/b> New cases of politically-motivated persecution were documented in Belarus on May 31 as authorities keep trying to stifle all forms of dissent.\n<\/p>\n<p>\n\t Arrested and released\n<\/p>\n<p>\n\t Police arrested a man returning to Belarus from Poland, the Viasna Human Rights Center said. He was reportedly dragged out of the bus at the border in Brest and placed in a police car in handcuffs.\n<\/p>\n<p>\n\t Juryj Slizievi\u010d, a Soviet-Afghanistan war veteran and business owner, was arrested in Hrodna, the <span>Pravo Imeyut <\/span>Telegram channel reported. Authorities have not disclosed the reasons for his arrest.\n<\/p>\n<p>\n\t Police also arrested a college student in Babrujsk, Mahilo\u016d region, and charged him with facilitating activities of an extremist group, a pro-government source said. In a police video, he admitted to following Ukrainian media and writing negative comments about the Russian army in the Telegram channel run by Kastu\u015b Kalino\u016dski Regiment of Belarusian volunteers fighting Russia in Ukraine.\n<\/p>\n<p>\n\t Ihar Buzuk is free after serving two years in prison for hanging a white-red-white flag at a war memorial in Hrodna, a Telegram channel monitoring politically-motivated persecution in Hrodna and the Hrodna region reported.\n<\/p>\n<p>\n\t Alaksandr Bo\u0107ka, a school principal in Va\u016dkavysk, Hrodna region, was released after his arrest on May 29. He might have been charged with breaking regulations governing mass events, said the <span>Sudy, Zaderzhania. Grodno i Oblast<\/span> channel in the Telegram messenger application.\n<\/p>\n<p>\n\t Criminal proceedings\n<\/p>\n<p>\n\t Prosecutors received the case against Pavie\u0142 Ma\u017eejka, a journalist and cultural manager in Hrodna accused of promoting extremism, <span>Hrodna.life <\/span>reported. Ma\u017eejka led a non-governmental organization called Center of Urban Life, which was shut down last year.\n<\/p>\n<p>\n\t On May 24, the Minsk City Court sentenced accountant Hanna Karniajenka to five years in prison at a closed trial, Viasna said. Investigators said she shared information with an online project exposing the identities of security officers who mistreated and brutalized peaceful protesters in 2020.\n<\/p>\n<p>\n\t The \u017d\u0142obin District Court in the Homiel region tried serviceman Alaksandr Stroka\u016d for participation in 2020 protests even though he had not yet been drafted for active duty at the time, Viasna reported. Judge \u015aviat\u0142ana Rubachava sentenced him to two months of military arrest.\n<\/p>\n<p>\n\t Jailed Iryna Sava\u0161ynskaja went on trial in Hrodna on charges of participating in protests, <span>Sudy, Zaderzhaniya. Hrodna i Oblast<\/span> reported. Another defendant in the case is Alaksiej Pa\u016dlenka whose whereabouts are unknown.\n<\/p>\n<p>\n\t Juryj Carevi\u010d went on trial in Lida, Hrodna region, on charges of slandering Alaksandr \u0141uka\u0161enka, <span>Pravo Imeyut<\/span> reported.\n<\/p>\n<p>\n\t Other instances of persecution\n<\/p>\n<p>\n\t Prominent opposition politician Mika\u0142aj Statkievi\u010d has been behind bars for three years, Viasna said. Authorities sentenced him to 14 years in prison where he is said to be mistreated. He has been recently placed in solitary confinement for six months.\n<\/p>\n<p>\n\t A police officer from Mahilo\u016d contacted former political prisoner Valancin \u0141aba\u010do\u016d via WhatsApp. In April, \u0141aba\u010do\u016d left for Poland after serving 18 months in prison for allegedly insulting \u0141uka\u0161enka. He links police interest to his public appearances and interviews.\n<\/p>\n<p>\n\t Jailed D\u017amitryj Son\u010dyk suffered a heart attack and a stroke at the Mahilo\u016d prison. He spent about a month at the city hospital, guarded and handcuffed to the bed, and then was sent back to prison where other inmates took care of him, \u0141aba\u010do\u016d among them.\n<\/p>\n<p>\n\t Authorities did not allow jailed opposition activist Anastasija Kuchta to attend her mother&#8217;s funeral, the <span>Anarchist Black Cross<\/span> said. She is currently serving a five-year prison term after being convicted on three criminal charges.\n<\/p>\n<p>\n\t On June 1, human rights defenders identified at least 1,491 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>June 1, BPN. New cases of politically-motivated persecution were documented in Belarus on May 31 as authorities keep trying to stifle all forms of dissent. Arrested and released Police arrested a man returning to Belarus from Poland, the Viasna Human Rights Center said. He was reportedly dragged out of the bus at the border in [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":75,"featured_media":0,"template":"","rubric":[16],"class_list":["post-47080","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=\"June 1, BPN. 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