{"id":52853,"date":"2023-12-02T16:03:26","date_gmt":"2023-12-02T13:03:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/api.pozirk.online\/?post_type=articles&p=52853"},"modified":"2026-03-10T12:05:06","modified_gmt":"2026-03-10T12:05:06","slug":"update-on-arrests-trials-politically-motivated-persecution-82","status":"publish","type":"articles","link":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/news\/52853\/","title":{"rendered":"Update on arrests, trials, politically-motivated persecution"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

December 2, Pozirk<\/em>.<\/strong> New cases of politically-motivated persecution were documented in Belarus on December 1 as authorities branded 21 people as extremists and banned more opposition content.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Arrests<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hrodna police arrested Protestant priest Vasil Trub\u010dyk, Pozirk<\/em> reported. He remains in custody pending a trial scheduled for December 4.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Fifteen students were arrested in Brest for comments in an online chat, a pro-government source said. Four of them are held in a temporary detention center. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Two women from Minsk and Brest are under arrest for participating in 2020 postelection protests, according to a pro-government source.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Trials<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Anatol Trubkin, 69, father of exiled opposition activist Alaksiej Trubkin, was given 15 days in jail, Radyjo Racyja<\/em> reported. Authorities did not disclose the charges against him. He has vision problems and diabetes and had previously suffered a stroke.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Inesa Vorychava was jailed for 15 days for sharing opposition content, a pro-government source said. Her daughter Marharyta Vorychava is currently based abroad and is a youth police advisor for the Belarusian opposition leader \u015aviat\u0142ana Cichano\u016dskaja.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Artist Hanna Kruk was jailed for 13 days, the Viasna Human Rights Center reported. The reason may have been her dance performance in one of the Minsk cafes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

New criminal charges<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Authorities charged journalist and human rights activist U\u0142adzimir Chilmanovi\u010d with promoting extremism and searched his home and his wife’s apartment, Haradzienskaja Pravaabarona, a Hrodna-based human rights group, said.\u00a0Police seized computer equipment, books and newspapers. The journalist is based abroad.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Other instances of persecution<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Police officers conducted about 200 searches across Belarus in a crackdown against the opposition Coordination Council, Zerkalo<\/em> reported. More than 100 people are reportedly suspected of high treason, extremism and conspiracy to seize power.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Contacts with jailed United Civic Party head Mika\u0142aj Kaz\u0142o\u016d broke off after he filed a request to see his lawyer, his associates said on social media. Prison authorities deny receiving the request. Kaz\u0142o\u016d is serving a two-and-a-half-year prison term on charges widely seen as politically motivated.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Authorities transferred lawyer Anastasija \u0141azarenka to the women’s prison in Homiel where she is to serve the six-year term given on charges of disclosing personal data and inciting hatred, Viasna said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Police searched the home of filmmaker Siarhiej Ar\u0142o\u016d in Viciebsk, the Vitebsk, ja gulayu!<\/em> Telegram channel said. On November 30, he was reportedly arrested.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“Extremist” list update<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Authorities added 21 more names to the list of “persons involved in extremist activities,” taking the total to 3,562. Eduard Babaryka, son of jailed former presidential hopeful Viktar Babaryka, is one of them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Authorities branded the Instagram page and the Telegram channel of Ihar Janko\u016d, a Belarusian volunteer fighting Russia in Ukraine, as extremist content, Viasna said. Other blacklisted content includes the SVDK | S\u0142u\u017eba Vajarskaj Dapamohi Kalino\u016dskaha<\/em> and Beer&History<\/em> Telegram channels as well as the talaka_in_italia<\/em>, TOK | TALK<\/em>, budzma<\/em> and lordiuz<\/em> Instagram pages.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As of December 2, human rights defenders identified at least 1,447 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":"

December 2, Pozirk. New cases of politically-motivated persecution were documented in Belarus on December 1 as authorities branded 21 people as extremists and banned more opposition content. Arrests Hrodna police arrested Protestant priest Vasil Trub\u010dyk, Pozirk reported. He remains in custody pending a trial scheduled for December 4. Fifteen students were arrested in Brest for […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":84,"featured_media":0,"template":"","rubric":[14],"class_list":["post-52853","articles","type-articles","status-publish","hentry","rubric-politics"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nUpdate on arrests, trials, politically-motivated persecution | Pozirk<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"December 2, Pozirk. 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