{"id":70045,"date":"2024-02-28T10:21:26","date_gmt":"2024-02-28T07:21:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/news\/70045\/"},"modified":"2026-03-09T20:10:49","modified_gmt":"2026-03-09T20:10:49","slug":"update-on-arrests-trials-politically-motivated-persecution-135","status":"publish","type":"articles","link":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/news\/70045\/","title":{"rendered":"Update on arrests, trials, politically-motivated persecution"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p><strong>February 28, <em>Pozirk<\/em>.<\/strong> New instances of politically-motivated persecution were documented in Belarus on February 27 as authorities arrested and tried dissenters for social media activity, participation in 2020 postelection protests and support for Ukraine. Concerns are growing over the alleged ill-treatment of imprisoned veteran politician Ryhor Kastusio\u016d who has cancer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Arrests<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Police arrested Maryna Va\u0142asievi\u010d for comments in Telegram chats that allegedly insulted police officers, prosecutors and Alaksandar \u0141uka\u0161enka, <em>Na\u0161a Niva<\/em> reported.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Riot police arrested two Brest men for participating in 2020 postelection protests, pro-government sources said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>A married couple is under arrest for participating in protests and posting online comments, pro-government sources said, accusing the woman of supporting Ukraine. Both may face criminal charges.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>A man was arrested in Bycha\u016d, Mahilo\u016d region, for tearing down a state flag from a store on February 17, MAYDAY.TEAM reported. Authorities accuse him of abusing state symbols.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Trials<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Pastor Alaksandar Zarecki from Nova\u0142ukoml, Viciebsk region, was jailed for 15 days for praying for Ukraine, Chry\u015bcijanskaja Vizija reported.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Hrodna regions&#8217;s judges heard cases against Raman Zajca\u016d, Ta\u0107ciana Dzidzienka and Andrej Ramiejka, accused of sharing opposition content, the Pravo Imeyut initiative reported. Authorities did not disclose the verdicts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Criminal proceedings<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>A judge in Brest convicted Hienad\u017a Vasiluk of slandering \u0141uka\u0161enka, the Brest branch of the Viasna Human Rights Center said. The sentence remains unknown, but the prosecutor requested 18 months in prison for him.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Andrej Brem\u0161midt is on trial in Minsk for donating money to opposition initiatives, <em>Pozirk<\/em> reported. Before his arrest, he managed the Alfabudstroj construction company and was a local council deputy in Zas\u0142a\u016dl, Minsk region. Authorities accuse him of financing terrorism and extremism.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Other instances of persecution<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Opposition activist U\u0142adzimir Hundar has been held in a single cell in the Mahilo\u016d prison for five months, <em>Radyjo Racyja<\/em> reported. Hundar, whose leg had been amputated, is serving a 20-year prison term in a politically-motivated case.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Authorities may start filing charges of high treason against people who donated money to opposition foundations, including the ByPol and BelPol resistance groups of former law enforcers, the By_Help initiative said, noting existing precedents.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The United Nations human rights experts called on the Belarusian government to grant imprisoned politician Kastusio\u016d a pardon or remission of sentence, or replace his imprisonment with an alternative form of deprivation of liberty, <em>Pozirk<\/em> reported. The 66-year old leader of the outlawed Belarusian Popular Front is serving a 10-year prison term for allegedly plotting to overthrow the government but he is widely regarded as a victim of politically-motivated persecution.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>As of February 28, human rights defenders identified at least 1,413 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>February 28, Pozirk. New instances of politically-motivated persecution were documented in Belarus on February 27 as authorities arrested and tried dissenters for social media activity, participation in 2020 postelection protests and support for Ukraine. Concerns are growing over the alleged ill-treatment of imprisoned veteran politician Ryhor Kastusio\u016d who has cancer. Arrests Police arrested Maryna Va\u0142asievi\u010d [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":83,"featured_media":61100,"template":"","rubric":[16],"class_list":["post-70045","articles","type-articles","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","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=\"February 28, Pozirk. 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