{"id":73959,"date":"2024-03-19T11:58:52","date_gmt":"2024-03-19T08:58:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/news\/73959\/"},"modified":"2026-03-09T20:10:49","modified_gmt":"2026-03-09T20:10:49","slug":"update-on-arrests-trials-politically-motivated-persecution-146","status":"publish","type":"articles","link":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/news\/73959\/","title":{"rendered":"Update on arrests, trials, politically-motivated persecution"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

March 19, Pozirk<\/em>.<\/strong> New cases of politically-motivated persecution were documented in Belarus on March 18 as authorities kept persecuting dissenters and exiled activists.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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

Last week, police arrested human rights defender Alaksandar Vajcie\u0161yk in Baranavi\u010dy, Brest region, the Viasna Human Rights Center reported. The reason for his arrest remains unknown.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Police-linked Telegram channels have released videos of the arrests of a truck driver and a man with a Ukrainian coat-of-arms tattoo in Hrodna. The charges are unknown.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Police arrested YouTuber Vital Kazuno\u016d for posting a white-red-white flag on Facebook in 2020, pro-government sources said. His channel has 469,000 followers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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

Andrej Damastoj was tried in Hrodna for sharing opposition content, the Pravo Imeyut<\/em> Telegram channel reported. The verdict is unknown.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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

A judge in Ivacevi\u010dy, Brest region, sentenced Maksim Hurynovi\u010d to 18 months of restricted freedom in an open-type correctional facility and fined him 2,000 rubels (about $619) for allegedly insulting an official, Viasna reported.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Vital Maksim\u010duk was given six years in prison and fined 40,000 rubels ($12,370) in Brest, Viasna said. The charges against him, including gross violations of public order, facilitating extremism and setting up an extremist group, are widely seen as politically motivated.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

On February 27, a judge in Minsk sentenced former Bie\u0142aru\u015bbank employee Artur Filipa\u016d to three years of restricted freedom in home confinement for participating in 2020 postelection protests, Viasna reported.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ja\u016dhien Bielamuk will go on trial in Brest on March 20 on charges of participating in an armed conflict abroad, Na\u0161a Niva<\/em> reported. The charge is used to punish those who try to join the Ukrainian Armed Forces as volunteers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Special proceedings<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Investigative Committee said it opened special procedure cases against 11 exiled regime critics, including blogger Andrej Pavuk, his former wife Volha Pavuk, opera singer Marharyta La\u016d\u010duk, as well as her ex-husband Alaksandar \u010cacho\u016dski. Also targeted are Na\u0161 Dom leader Volha Kara\u010d, former official Anatol Kota\u016d, and Veranika Capka\u0142a, the wife of former presidential candidate Valer Capka\u0142a.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Exiled opposition activists Alena \u017dyvah\u0142od, Pavie\u0142 Maryni\u010d, Pavie\u0142 Libier and Alaksandar Dabravolski were tried in absentia and given four years in prison each, the Prosecutor General\u2019s Office reported. All four were found guilty of interfering in the last election campaign over an alleged campaign to warn officials against involvement in vote rigging.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As of March 19, human rights defenders identified at least 1,406 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\n\n\n

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