{"id":56090,"date":"2023-12-18T12:01:46","date_gmt":"2023-12-18T09:01:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/api.pozirk.online\/?post_type=articles&#038;p=56090"},"modified":"2026-03-09T20:10:49","modified_gmt":"2026-03-09T20:10:49","slug":"update-on-arrests-trials-politically-motivated-persecution-93","status":"publish","type":"articles","link":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/news\/56090\/","title":{"rendered":"Update on arrests, trials, politically-motivated persecution"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p><strong>December 18, <em>Pozirk<\/em>.<\/strong> New cases of politically-motivated persecution were documented in Belarus on December 16 and 17 with pressure building up on dissenters.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Arrests<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>On December 15, police raided the Nioman glassworks in Biaroza\u016dka, Hrodna region, for the third time in the last four months, <em>Pozirk<\/em> reported. Eight workers are under arrest for sharing and reacting to opposition content. Opposition activist Vitold A\u0161urak, who died in prison under unclear circumstances in 2021, used to work there.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The interior ministry&#8217;s organized crime unit officers arrested a children&#8217;s hockey coach in Or\u0161a, Viciebsk region, after an anonymous tip-off, the Viasna Human Rights Center said. The arrest may be linked to his messages in a group chat with the children&#8217;s parents.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Criminal proceedings<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>On December 19, the Minsk Regional Court will hear an appeal by jailed opposition activist \u0179micier Da\u0161kievi\u010d against a new one-year prison term given for alleged disobedience to prison administration, <em>Pozirk<\/em> reported. Judge Alaksandar Rybako\u016d known for passing sentences in politically-motivated cases will preside over the proceedings.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>On January 5, the Viciebsk Regional Court will hear \u015aviat\u0142ana \u0141upa\u010d\u2019s appeal, <em>Pozirk<\/em> reported. Authorities convicted her of an alleged public order offense but have not disclosed the sentence. Rights groups say it involves the deprivation of freedom. Her father, journalist D\u017amitryj \u0141upa\u010d, is currently based abroad.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>As of December 18, human rights defenders identified at least 1,469 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 18, Pozirk. New cases of politically-motivated persecution were documented in Belarus on December 16 and 17 with pressure building up on dissenters. Arrests On December 15, police raided the Nioman glassworks in Biaroza\u016dka, Hrodna region, for the third time in the last four months, Pozirk reported. Eight workers are under arrest for sharing and [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":83,"featured_media":0,"template":"","rubric":[16],"class_list":["post-56090","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 18, Pozirk. 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