{"id":57721,"date":"2023-12-27T12:25:42","date_gmt":"2023-12-27T09:25:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/api.pozirk.online\/?post_type=articles&#038;p=57721"},"modified":"2026-03-09T20:10:49","modified_gmt":"2026-03-09T20:10:49","slug":"update-on-arrests-trials-politically-motivated-persecution-99","status":"publish","type":"articles","link":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/news\/57721\/","title":{"rendered":"Update on arrests, trials, politically-motivated persecution"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p><strong>December 27, <em>Pozirk<\/em>.<\/strong> New cases of politically-motivated persecution were documented in Belarus on December 26 with more people facing punishment for supporting the 2020 postelection protests.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Arrested and released<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Police arrested at least eight people in Baranavi\u010dy, Brest region, for alleged participation in 2020 postelection protests, <em>Mediazona.Belarus<\/em> reported. D\u017amitryj Michalcevi\u010d, D\u017amitryj Filipovi\u010d, Mika\u0142aj \u0141osik and Arciom Dziagcio\u016d are among those arrested.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Party entertainer Siarhiej Tumana\u016d was arrested in Minsk, a pro-government source said. In a police video, he admitted to supporting protesters and following opposition content. The exact charges against him are unknown.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Authorities released Natalla \u015aciepancova after she had served two years of restricted freedom at an open-type correctional facility for allegedly insulting an official, the Homiel branch of the Viasna Human Rights Center said. Authorities blacklisted her as a person &#8220;involved in extremist activities.&#8221;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Trials<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>On December 20, a judge in Lida, Hrodna region, jailed singer Siarhiej \u010carniako\u016d for 15 days on charges of sharing opposition content, Haradzienskaja Pravaabarona said. Two weeks ago, he was hospitalized following his first arrest.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Criminal proceedings<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>A judge in Brest sentenced exiled politician Vadzim Prakopje\u016d, a co-founder of the Belarusian volunteer regiment Pahonia, to another 25 years in prison without the defendant being present, <em>Pozirk<\/em> reported. Authorities found him guilty of insulting and slandering Alaksandar \u0141uka\u0161enka and officials, inciting hatred and calling for sanctions. In June, he also had been given 25 years in prison in another trial in absentia.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>A Mahilo\u016d resident (name unknown) was sentenced to four and a half years in prison on extremism-related charges, <em>BelTA<\/em> reported.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Other instances of persecution<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Jailed journalist Ihar \u0141osik was summoned by officials over failure to make child support payouts even though his imprisoned wife&#8217;s family takes care of his underage daughter, <em>Radyjo Svaboda<\/em> reported.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Jailed freelance cameraman Via\u010das\u0142a\u016d \u0141azara\u016d was transferred to Penal Colony No 15 in Mahilo\u016d, the Belarusian Association of Journalists said. He is serving a five-year term for cooperation with the Warsaw-based <em>Belsat TV<\/em> channel.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>As of December 27, human rights defenders identified at least 1,474 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 27, Pozirk. New cases of politically-motivated persecution were documented in Belarus on December 26 with more people facing punishment for supporting the 2020 postelection protests. Arrested and released Police arrested at least eight people in Baranavi\u010dy, Brest region, for alleged participation in 2020 postelection protests, Mediazona.Belarus reported. D\u017amitryj Michalcevi\u010d, D\u017amitryj Filipovi\u010d, Mika\u0142aj \u0141osik and [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":83,"featured_media":0,"template":"","rubric":[16],"class_list":["post-57721","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 27, Pozirk. New cases of politically-motivated persecution were documented in Belarus on December 26 with more people facing punishment for\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/news\/57721\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Update on arrests, trials, politically-motivated persecution | Pozirk\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"December 27, Pozirk. New cases of politically-motivated persecution were documented in Belarus on December 26 with more people facing punishment for\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/news\/57721\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Pozirk\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/pozirkonline\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-03-09T20:10:49+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@Pozirk_online\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"NewsArticle\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/news\/57721\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/news\/57721\/\"},\"headline\":\"Update on arrests, trials, politically-motivated persecution\",\"datePublished\":\"2023-12-27T09:25:42+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-03-09T20:10:49+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/news\/57721\/\"},\"wordCount\":366,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/#organization\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/news\/57721\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/news\/57721\/\",\"name\":\"Update on arrests, trials, politically-motivated persecution | Pozirk\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2023-12-27T09:25:42+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-03-09T20:10:49+00:00\",\"description\":\"December 27, Pozirk. New cases of politically-motivated persecution were documented in Belarus on December 26 with more people facing punishment for\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/news\/57721\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/news\/57721\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/news\/57721\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Update on arrests, trials, politically-motivated persecution\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/\",\"name\":\"Pozirk\",\"description\":\"\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/#organization\",\"name\":\"Pozirk\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/cropped-Logo_color_512.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/cropped-Logo_color_512.png\",\"width\":512,\"height\":512,\"caption\":\"Pozirk\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/pozirkonline\/\",\"https:\/\/x.com\/Pozirk_online\"]}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Update on arrests, trials, politically-motivated persecution | Pozirk","description":"December 27, Pozirk. New cases of politically-motivated persecution were documented in Belarus on December 26 with more people facing punishment for","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/news\/57721\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Update on arrests, trials, politically-motivated persecution | Pozirk","og_description":"December 27, Pozirk. New cases of politically-motivated persecution were documented in Belarus on December 26 with more people facing punishment for","og_url":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/news\/57721\/","og_site_name":"Pozirk","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/pozirkonline\/","article_modified_time":"2026-03-09T20:10:49+00:00","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_site":"@Pozirk_online","twitter_misc":{"Est. reading time":"2 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/news\/57721\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/news\/57721\/"},"headline":"Update on arrests, trials, politically-motivated persecution","datePublished":"2023-12-27T09:25:42+00:00","dateModified":"2026-03-09T20:10:49+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/news\/57721\/"},"wordCount":366,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/#organization"},"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/news\/57721\/","url":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/news\/57721\/","name":"Update on arrests, trials, politically-motivated persecution | Pozirk","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/#website"},"datePublished":"2023-12-27T09:25:42+00:00","dateModified":"2026-03-09T20:10:49+00:00","description":"December 27, Pozirk. New cases of politically-motivated persecution were documented in Belarus on December 26 with more people facing punishment for","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/news\/57721\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/news\/57721\/"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/news\/57721\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Update on arrests, trials, politically-motivated persecution"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/#website","url":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/","name":"Pozirk","description":"","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/#organization","name":"Pozirk","url":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/cropped-Logo_color_512.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/cropped-Logo_color_512.png","width":512,"height":512,"caption":"Pozirk"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/pozirkonline\/","https:\/\/x.com\/Pozirk_online"]}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/articles\/57721","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/articles"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/articles"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/83"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=57721"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"rubric","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/rubric?post=57721"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}