{"id":67256,"date":"2024-02-15T11:35:16","date_gmt":"2024-02-15T08:35:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/api.pozirk.online\/?post_type=articles&p=67256"},"modified":"2026-03-10T12:05:06","modified_gmt":"2026-03-10T12:05:06","slug":"update-on-arrests-trials-politically-motivated-persecution-131","status":"publish","type":"articles","link":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/news\/67256\/","title":{"rendered":"Update on arrests, trials, politically-motivated persecution"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

February 15, Pozirk<\/em>.<\/strong> New cases of politically-motivated persecution were documented in Belarus on February 14 as reprisals against dissenters continued.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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

Police arrested MTBank employees Ta\u0107ciana Pa\u016d\u0142ava and Nadzieja Azarka for participation in the 2020 postelection protests in Minsk, Mediazona <\/em>reported. In 2023, authorities sentenced their former colleagues, Ina Hlinskaja and her daughter Valeryja Hlinskaja, to lengthy prison terms for sharing security officials’ data with an opposition Telegram channel.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Brest police arrested a man who returned from Poland on suspicion of participating in protests, a pro-government Telegram channel said. Police footage shows him being kicked in the stomach.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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

A man from Navahrudak, Hrodna region, was fined 600 rubels (about $185) for seeking assistance from the INeedHelp initiative, the Viasna Human Rights Center said. From 2022 to January 2024, the initiative reportedly bought groceries for him worth 300 rubels ($93). Since early February, at least 65 people have been persecuted for receiving similar aid.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A judge in \u017dytkavi\u010dy, Homiel region, fined pediatrician Iryna Ci\u0161ko\u016dskaja for sharing opposition content, the Homiel branch of Viasna reported.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

At least 13 people from the Hrodna district were convicted on similar charges, including Dzijana Ka\u0161lej, Hanna Pa\u016d\u0142ovi\u010d, Andrej Ko\u016dhan, Iryna Jam\u0161aruk, Inesa Duchovi\u010d, An\u017eela Ku\u017aniacova and D\u017amitryj Ka\u0161lak, the Sudy, Zaderzhaniya. Grodno i Oblast<\/em> Telegram channel reported.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Hrodna district authorities registered 76 extremism-related offenses in 2023 and 13 offenses since the start of 2024, proregion24.by said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Criminal proceedings<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Alaksandar Pali\u016dka will go on trial on February 15 in Brest, the Brest branch of Viasna reported. He faces several politically-motivated charges, including calling for sanctions and setting up an extremist group.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dzijana Zavadskaja\u2019s trial will open in Brest on February 26, Na\u0161a Niva<\/em> reported, noting that the proceedings will be closed to the public. Authorities accuse the woman of gross violations of public order and participating in an armed conflict abroad. Zavadskaja returned to Belarus from Georgia, where she lived with her seven-year-old son and worked for an IT company.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

D\u017amitryj \u0160\u010derbin, accused of inciting hatred, will go on trial on February 16 in Homiel, Flagshtok<\/em> reported.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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

The Investigative Committee said it opened a criminal case against members of the Personnel Reserve for New Belarus, which it describes as an extremist group.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Valancina Mironava, the mother of exiled activist Illa Mirona\u016d, was charged of facilitating extremism, Radyjo Svaboda<\/em> reported. The woman fled Belarus, fearing politically-motivated persecution.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Belarusian authorities filed criminal charges against Belarusian writer Sa\u0161a Filipienka who is currently based abroad, he told novayagazeta.eu.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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

Prosecutors in Lida, Hrodna region, suspended the operations of an educational center citing its failure to coordinate the curriculum with local authorities, the Prosecutor General’s Office said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A\u0142a \u010cujko, deputy head teacher at School No 1 in Biaroza\u016dka, Hrodna region, was fired after being arrested at her workplace and fined 1,200 rubels (about $370) for sharing opposition content, the Zaderzhanija, Sudy v Lide <\/em>Telegram channel reported.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As of February 15, human rights defenders identified at least 1,416 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":"

February 15, Pozirk. New cases of politically-motivated persecution were documented in Belarus on February 14 as reprisals against dissenters continued. Arrests Police arrested MTBank employees Ta\u0107ciana Pa\u016d\u0142ava and Nadzieja Azarka for participation in the 2020 postelection protests in Minsk, Mediazona reported. In 2023, authorities sentenced their former colleagues, Ina Hlinskaja and her daughter Valeryja Hlinskaja, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":84,"featured_media":0,"template":"","rubric":[14],"class_list":["post-67256","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=\"February 15, Pozirk. New cases of politically-motivated persecution were documented in Belarus on February 14 as reprisals against dissenters continued.\" \/>\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\/67256\/\" \/>\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=\"February 15, Pozirk. New cases of politically-motivated persecution were documented in Belarus on February 14 as reprisals against dissenters continued.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/news\/67256\/\" \/>\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=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"NewsArticle\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/news\/67256\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/news\/67256\/\"},\"headline\":\"Update on arrests, trials, politically-motivated persecution\",\"datePublished\":\"2024-02-15T08:35:16+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-03-10T12:05:06+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/news\/67256\/\"},\"wordCount\":522,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/#organization\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/news\/67256\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/news\/67256\/\",\"name\":\"Update on arrests, trials, politically-motivated persecution | Pozirk\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2024-02-15T08:35:16+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-03-10T12:05:06+00:00\",\"description\":\"February 15, Pozirk. New cases of politically-motivated persecution were documented in Belarus on February 14 as reprisals against dissenters continued.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/news\/67256\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/news\/67256\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/news\/67256\/#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":"February 15, Pozirk. New cases of politically-motivated persecution were documented in Belarus on February 14 as reprisals against dissenters continued.","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\/67256\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Update on arrests, trials, politically-motivated persecution | Pozirk","og_description":"February 15, Pozirk. New cases of politically-motivated persecution were documented in Belarus on February 14 as reprisals against dissenters continued.","og_url":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/news\/67256\/","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":"3 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/news\/67256\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/news\/67256\/"},"headline":"Update on arrests, trials, politically-motivated persecution","datePublished":"2024-02-15T08:35:16+00:00","dateModified":"2026-03-10T12:05:06+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/news\/67256\/"},"wordCount":522,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/#organization"},"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/news\/67256\/","url":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/news\/67256\/","name":"Update on arrests, trials, politically-motivated persecution | Pozirk","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/#website"},"datePublished":"2024-02-15T08:35:16+00:00","dateModified":"2026-03-10T12:05:06+00:00","description":"February 15, Pozirk. New cases of politically-motivated persecution were documented in Belarus on February 14 as reprisals against dissenters continued.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/news\/67256\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/news\/67256\/"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/news\/67256\/#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\/67256","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=67256"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"rubric","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/rubric?post=67256"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}