{"id":47114,"date":"2023-06-03T13:24:27","date_gmt":"2023-06-03T10:24:27","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\/47114\/","title":{"rendered":"Update on arrests, trials, politically-motivated persecution"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>\n <b>June 3, <span>BPN<\/span>.<\/b> New cases of politically-motivated persecution were documented in Belarus on June 2 with 23 new names on the political prisoners list.\n<\/p>\n<p>\n\t Arrested and released\n<\/p>\n<p>\n\t Police arrested Dzijana Cho\u0142adava upon her return to Belarus from Russia and accused her of participating in 2020 protests, a pro-government source said.\n<\/p>\n<p>\n\t Photographer Ja\u016dhien Buzuk was arrested in Hrodna, <span>Hrodna.life<\/span> reported. Authorities say he volunteered to help Ukrainian refugees in Poland and&nbsp;accused him of sharing opposition content.\n<\/p>\n<p>\n\t Authorities released Alena Chramcova, a lecturer at Po\u0142ack State University, after she had served 10 days in jail, <span>BPN<\/span> reported. Police searched her home, confiscated all her electronic devices and arrested her on May 23 during a large raid in Navapo\u0142ack, Viciebsk region, for following an opposition Telegram channel.\n<\/p>\n<p>\n\t Trials\n<\/p>\n<p>\n\t A judge in Po\u0142ack, Viciebsk region, jailed Alaksandr \u0160a\u016dco\u016d, a&nbsp;Greek Catholic&nbsp;priest, for 30 days for allegedly violating the order of holding mass events, Chry\u015bcijanskaja Vizija said. The priest is currently serving a 15-day jail term for sharing opposition content.\n<\/p>\n<p>\n\t U\u0142adzis\u0142a\u016d Bie\u0142adzied was jailed for 15 days on similar charges. He is a catechist and not a Roman Catholic seminary student as reported earlier.&nbsp;\n<\/p>\n<p>\n\t Vital Sa\u0142ama\u017eecki from the Deti Khrushchevok rock band was jailed for seven days for storing his band records that had been branded extremist content, the Viasna Human Rights Center reported.\n<\/p>\n<p>\n\t Authorities fined a man in&nbsp;Baranavi\u010dy, Brest region, 740 rubels (over $250) for wearing a T-shirt with the logo of Kastu\u015b Kalino\u016dski Regiment of Belarusian volunteers fighting Russia in Ukraine.\n<\/p>\n<p>\n\t Criminal proceedings\n<\/p>\n<p>\n\t The Minsk City Court sentenced Alaksandr Kandraciuk, a genetics researcher at the National Academy of Sciences and trade union activist, to three and a half years in prison for online comments, <span>salidarnast.info<\/span> reported.\n<\/p>\n<p>\n\t A court in Lida, Hrodna region, sentenced&nbsp;Sciapan Jaku\u0107 to 18 months in prison over protests, insulting public officials and Alaksandr \u0141uka\u0161enka, Viasna reported.\n<\/p>\n<p>\n\t Authorities sentenced Ta\u0107ciana Rad\u010danka to two years of restricted freedom in home confinement over 2020 protests; Alaksiej Ciu\u0161kievi\u010d, to 18 months; Kaciaryna Novikava, to three years, according to Viasna.\n<\/p>\n<p>\n\t Former special forces soldier D\u017amitryj Hudzieje\u016d has been on trial in Minsk since May 25. He is charged with forming&nbsp;terrorist and extremist organizations. Authorities blacklisted Hudzieje\u016d as a terrorist but have not disclosed any further details of his case, Viasna said.\n<\/p>\n<p>\n\t Maksim Drabnica, 22, also on a terrorist register, is on trial in Homiel. Authorities accuse him of participating in military operations&nbsp;in a foreign country and forming&nbsp;a terrorist organization, Viasna reported.\n<\/p>\n<p>\n\t Businessman Tomasz Biaroza, allegedly a Polish national, will go on trial in Brest on June 14 on charges of espionage, according to Viasna.\n<\/p>\n<p>\n\t Other instances of persecution\n<\/p>\n<p>\n\t Jailed opposition activist Aksana Zareckaja was in a coma for at least three days, Viasna said. On March 16, Zareckaja was taken to hospital from Minsk Detention Center No 1 where she reportedly did not have access to proper medical care. Two days prior to her hospitalization, she was given 18 months in prison in connection with the 2020 post-election protests.\n<\/p>\n<p>\n\t Alena Anisim, a former MP and ex-head of the outlawed Belarusian Language Society, was fired from the Academy of Sciences after her release from jail where she had served 12 days on charges of disorderly conduct, <span>Narodnaja Vola<\/span> reported.\n<\/p>\n<p>\n\t Authorities allowed jailed journalist Siarhiej Sacuk to do easier work at Mahilo\u016d&#8217;s penal colony citing health reasons. Sacuk is currently serving an eight-year prison term on charges widely seen as politically motivated.\n<\/p>\n<p>\n\t Jailed opposition activist U\u0142adzimir Hundar, 62, was placed&nbsp;in a punishment cell for 10 days at Prison No 1 in Hrodna, Viasna said. He temporarily lost his hearing during his previous stay at&nbsp;a punishment cell. Authorities sentenced him to a total of 20 years in prison for his role in an alleged plot to overthrow the government.\n<\/p>\n<p>\n\t New political prisoners\n<\/p>\n<p>\n\t Belarusian human rights community labeled 23 people as political prisoners. The most common charges against them include insulting Alaksandr \u0141uka\u0161enka or public officials as well as participating in protests.\n<\/p>\n<p>\n\t As of June 3, human rights defenders identified at least 1,513 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.\n<\/p>\n<p>\n\t &nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>June 3, BPN. New cases of politically-motivated persecution were documented in Belarus on June 2 with 23 new names on the political prisoners list. Arrested and released Police arrested Dzijana Cho\u0142adava upon her return to Belarus from Russia and accused her of participating in 2020 protests, a pro-government source said. Photographer Ja\u016dhien Buzuk was arrested [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":75,"featured_media":0,"template":"","rubric":[16],"class_list":["post-47114","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 3, BPN. 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