{"id":58712,"date":"2024-01-01T16:07:12","date_gmt":"2024-01-01T13:07:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/api.pozirk.online\/?post_type=articles&#038;p=58712"},"modified":"2026-03-10T12:05:06","modified_gmt":"2026-03-10T12:05:06","slug":"rights-defender-expects-reprisals-to-intensify-ahead-of-2024-elections","status":"publish","type":"articles","link":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/news\/58712\/","title":{"rendered":"Reprisals to intensify ahead of 2024 elections \u2013 rights defender \u00a0"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p><strong>January 1, <em>Pozirk<\/em>. <\/strong>Politically-motivated persecution is likely to intensify before the 2024 local and parliamentary elections scheduled for February 25, Pavie\u0142 Sapie\u0142ka of the Viasna Human Rights Center has told <em>Pozirk<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Elections and reprisals have always been interlinked in Belarus, he noted. Authorities keep violating almost all citizens&#8217; rights and will continue to do so in the future as they have nothing to offer to society, Sapie\u0142ka warned.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Belarusians face the new reality of reduced rights, as they cannot express their opinions for fear of losing their jobs or being imprisoned, he said, noting that authorities may limit vulnerable groups&#8217; rights even more if they think they need it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Alaksandar \u0141uka\u0161enka is also planning to prevent any conditions for popular unrest ahead of the 2025 presidential election, the activist added.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Human rights groups will continue systematic collection of evidence against perpetrators of human rights abuse in Belarus as it would increase the chances of holding them accountable, he stressed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>As of January 1, human rights defenders identified at least 1,452 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>January 1, Pozirk. Politically-motivated persecution is likely to intensify before the 2024 local and parliamentary elections scheduled for February 25, Pavie\u0142 Sapie\u0142ka of the Viasna Human Rights Center has told Pozirk. Elections and reprisals have always been interlinked in Belarus, he noted. Authorities keep violating almost all citizens&#8217; rights and will continue to do so [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":84,"featured_media":0,"template":"","rubric":[16],"class_list":["post-58712","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>Reprisals to intensify ahead of 2024 elections \u2013 rights defender \u00a0 | Pozirk<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"January 1, Pozirk. Politically-motivated persecution is likely to intensify before the 2024 local and parliamentary elections scheduled for February 25,\" \/>\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\/58712\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Reprisals to intensify ahead of 2024 elections \u2013 rights defender \u00a0 | Pozirk\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"January 1, Pozirk. Politically-motivated persecution is likely to intensify before the 2024 local and parliamentary elections scheduled for February 25,\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/news\/58712\/\" \/>\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=\"2026-03-10T12:05:06+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=\"1 minute\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"NewsArticle\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/news\/58712\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/news\/58712\/\"},\"headline\":\"Reprisals to intensify ahead of 2024 elections \u2013 rights defender \u00a0\",\"datePublished\":\"2024-01-01T13:07:12+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-03-10T12:05:06+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/news\/58712\/\"},\"wordCount\":199,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/#organization\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/news\/58712\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/news\/58712\/\",\"name\":\"Reprisals to intensify ahead of 2024 elections \u2013 rights defender \u00a0 | Pozirk\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2024-01-01T13:07:12+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-03-10T12:05:06+00:00\",\"description\":\"January 1, Pozirk. Politically-motivated persecution is likely to intensify before the 2024 local and parliamentary elections scheduled for February 25,\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/news\/58712\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/news\/58712\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/news\/58712\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Reprisals to intensify ahead of 2024 elections \u2013 rights defender \u00a0\"}]},{\"@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":"Reprisals to intensify ahead of 2024 elections \u2013 rights defender \u00a0 | Pozirk","description":"January 1, Pozirk. Politically-motivated persecution is likely to intensify before the 2024 local and parliamentary elections scheduled for February 25,","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\/58712\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Reprisals to intensify ahead of 2024 elections \u2013 rights defender \u00a0 | Pozirk","og_description":"January 1, Pozirk. Politically-motivated persecution is likely to intensify before the 2024 local and parliamentary elections scheduled for February 25,","og_url":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/news\/58712\/","og_site_name":"Pozirk","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/pozirkonline\/","article_modified_time":"2026-03-10T12:05:06+00:00","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_site":"@Pozirk_online","twitter_misc":{"Est. reading time":"1 minute"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/news\/58712\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/news\/58712\/"},"headline":"Reprisals to intensify ahead of 2024 elections \u2013 rights defender \u00a0","datePublished":"2024-01-01T13:07:12+00:00","dateModified":"2026-03-10T12:05:06+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/news\/58712\/"},"wordCount":199,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/#organization"},"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/news\/58712\/","url":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/news\/58712\/","name":"Reprisals to intensify ahead of 2024 elections \u2013 rights defender \u00a0 | Pozirk","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/#website"},"datePublished":"2024-01-01T13:07:12+00:00","dateModified":"2026-03-10T12:05:06+00:00","description":"January 1, Pozirk. Politically-motivated persecution is likely to intensify before the 2024 local and parliamentary elections scheduled for February 25,","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/news\/58712\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/news\/58712\/"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/news\/58712\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Reprisals to intensify ahead of 2024 elections \u2013 rights defender \u00a0"}]},{"@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\/58712","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\/84"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=58712"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"rubric","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/rubric?post=58712"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}