{"id":55664,"date":"2023-12-15T12:05:56","date_gmt":"2023-12-15T09:05:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/api.pozirk.online\/?post_type=articles&#038;p=55664"},"modified":"2026-03-09T20:10:49","modified_gmt":"2026-03-09T20:10:49","slug":"update-on-arrests-trials-politically-motivated-persecution-91","status":"publish","type":"articles","link":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/news\/55664\/","title":{"rendered":"Update on arrests, trials, politically-motivated persecution"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p><strong>December 15, <em>Pozirk<\/em>.<\/strong> New cases of politically-motivated persecution were documented in Belarus on December 14 with more reprisals directed against opposition activities and support of Ukraine.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Arrested and released<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Hrodna police arrested an employee of a state-run company for sharing a picture from the authorized rally and concert in Minsk celebrating the centennial of the Belarusian People&#8217;s Republic in 2018, pro-government Telegram channels said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Officers of the interior ministry&#8217;s organized crime unit arrested a Minsk man for his pro-Ukraine positions and support of Belarusian volunteers fighting Russia in Ukraine on social media, <em>Na\u0161a Niva<\/em> reported.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Investigators have accused two Sviet\u0142ahorsk-based journalists of creating and running a group in the Telegram messaging app that shared information about postelection protests that threatened &#8220;the foundations of the constitutional order in the country,&#8221; the interior ministry said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>A 42-year-old man was arrested in the Hrodna region for allegedly insulting the late Siarhiej Asavik, one of the top police officials in \u0160\u010du\u010dyn, pro-government Telegram channels said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Siarhiej Kudzin from Minsk is under arrest on charges of sharing opposition content and supporting Ukraine, <em>Na\u0161a Niva<\/em> reported.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Michai\u0142 \u0141apuno\u016d was arrested again, the Homiel branch of the Viasna Human Rights Center said. Earlier this year, he had been jailed for seven consecutive times spending 102 days behind bars for allegedly sharing opposition content. His son Mikita Za\u0142ataro\u016d, a legal minor arrested in 2020, is currently serving four and a half years in prison on charges widely seen as politically motivated.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Authorities released Via\u010das\u0142a\u016d \u015amirno\u016d after he had served two years of restricted freedom in an open-type correctional facility for allegedly insulting Alaksandar \u0141uka\u0161enka, Viasna reported.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Criminal proceedings<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u010cas\u0142a\u016d Kananovi\u010d went on trial in Minsk on charges of participating in an armed conflict abroad, Viasna said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>On December 11, a judge in Brest sentenced Alaksandar Pleskacevi\u010d to three years in prison on charges of hooliganism and rehabilitating Nazism, Viasna reported. Earlier, he had served two years of restricted freedom in an open-type correctional facility for opposition graffiti.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Vasil Dziemidovi\u010d, 71, is on his seventh trial in Staryja Darohi, Minsk region, for allegedly insulting \u0141uka\u0161enka and public officials, Viasna reported. He has been in custody for over a year and faces at least six more years behind bars.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Trials<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Former Mahilo\u016d blogger Ale\u015b Sabale\u016dski was jailed for 10 days, MAYDAYMog reported. Authorities did not disclose the charges against him.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>On December 5, a judge in Or\u0161a, Viciebsk region, jailed U\u0142adzimir Mia\u017euje\u016d for eight days for sharing opposition content, Viasna said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>&#8220;Extremist&#8221; list update<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The interior ministry said it blacklisted a group of people linked to the Belarusian Volunteer Corps (BDK) as an extremist group. Radzivon Batulin, Ihar Janko\u016d and Andrej Trace\u016dski were listed as the group\u2019s alleged members.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>As of December 15, human rights defenders identified at least 1,470 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>December 15, Pozirk. New cases of politically-motivated persecution were documented in Belarus on December 14 with more reprisals directed against opposition activities and support of Ukraine. Arrested and released Hrodna police arrested an employee of a state-run company for sharing a picture from the authorized rally and concert in Minsk celebrating the centennial of the [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":83,"featured_media":0,"template":"","rubric":[14],"class_list":["post-55664","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=\"December 15, Pozirk. 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