{"id":76631,"date":"2024-03-30T20:14:23","date_gmt":"2024-03-30T17:14:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/news\/76631\/"},"modified":"2026-02-24T20:40:57","modified_gmt":"2026-02-24T20:40:57","slug":"update-on-arrests-trials-politically-motivated-persecution-154","status":"publish","type":"articles","link":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/news\/76631\/","title":{"rendered":"Update on arrests, trials, politically-motivated persecution"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p><strong>March 30, <em>Pozirk.<\/em><\/strong> New cases of politically-motivated persecution were documented in Belarus on March 29, when authorities declared 18 more people to be extremists.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Arrests<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Law enforcers detained \u017dabinka resident D\u017amitryj Sa\u0142aviejka for protesting and subscribing to an &#8220;extremist&#8221; Telegram channel, <em>Mediazona<\/em> reported. It is unknown whether he has already been sentenced.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>A Homiel woman was arrested for &#8220;cynical comments&#8221; about the terrorist attack on the Crocus City Hall near Moscow, pro-government media reported. She was indicted on several counts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Trials<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>Pravo Imeyut<\/em> reported that on March 15, a district court in Hrodna found Iryna Panasik, a relative of political prisoner Valancin Panasik, guilty of violating a 2021 edict on foreign aid. She was fined 1,200 rubels (some $370) for receiving 280 rubels worth of aid from INeedHelpBY, an opposition solidarity group designated by authorities as extremist. The court ruled to seize her phone and the \u0441ost of the aid.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>On March 29, judges in the Hrodna region were to hear extremism cases against a dozen of people, <em>Pravo Imeyut<\/em> reported. The verdicts have not been announced so far.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Trials<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>On March 28, a court in Baranavi\u010dy, Brest region, found Ramualda Deko\u0142a guilty of defaming the head of state and sentenced her to 3.5 years of restricted freedom, a type of home confinement, the Viasna center reported.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The Homiel Regional Court sentenced Aleh Hare\u0142a\u016d, a former head of Bie\u0142inviestbank&#8217;s Homel branch, to 10 years in a medium-security penal colony, fined him 40,000 rubels and forbade him to hold managerial positions for five years, Viasna reported. He was accused of inciting social discord, corruption and illegal trafficking in narcotic drugs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>On March 29, a district court in Hrodna began the trial of Pavie\u0142 Huryn, charged with violating Article 357 of the Criminal Code (conspiracy to overthrow the government), <em>Sudy, Zaderzhaniya. Grodno i Oblast<\/em> reported.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Alaksandar Pi\u016d\u010duk went on trial yesterday in a district court in Hrodna, Viasna reported. He was charged with defaming and insulting the head of state, insulting a public servant and desecrating state symbols.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Other incidents<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>Na\u0161a Niva<\/em> reported that Siarhiej Bunat, a sole proprietor from Baranavi\u010dy who was arrested in August 2023, could face up to 12 years in prison for violating Article 361 of the Criminal Code (calls for restrictive measures (sanctions) or other actions aimed at undermining the national security of Belarus).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>An ambulance brought Vital \u010copik, a trial observer, to a hospital &#8220;with signs of severe beating&#8221; after he had been arrested in Brest on March 28, Viasna reported. He reportedly had jaundice, a sign of liver damage. Earlier, the Investigative Committee said that the man faced an extremism charge and was placed in an remand center. On March 12, he was tried under the Code of Administrative Offences for disobedience. His home was raided.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Extremism lists<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The interior ministry added 18 more names to its list of \u201cpersons involved in extremist activities,\u201d taking their total to 3,932, Viasna reported. New additions feature jailed Pavie\u0142 Ku\u010dynski, \u010cas\u0142a\u016d Kananovi\u010d and Nadzieja \u0141apcionak, convicted in criminal cases that human rights groups consider politically motivated.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Special procedure cases<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The Investigative Committee announced extremism-related charges against foreign-based Belarusian Popular Front (BPF) acting chairman Vadzim Saran\u010duko\u016d and Ale\u015b Kirkievi\u010d, a former leader of its youth wing. Both are being investigated under a special procedure that allows the government to prosecute its exiled opponents.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Releases<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Juryj Ku\u017ami\u010d and U\u0142adzimir Ruba\u0161e\u016dski, designated as political prisoners by human rights groups, were released on March 27 after serving their sentences. Both were sentenced to four years in prison for alleged rioting, Viasna reported.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>As of March 30, human rights defenders identified at least 1,404 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>March 30, Pozirk. New cases of politically-motivated persecution were documented in Belarus on March 29, when authorities declared 18 more people to be extremists. Arrests Law enforcers detained \u017dabinka resident D\u017amitryj Sa\u0142aviejka for protesting and subscribing to an &#8220;extremist&#8221; Telegram channel, Mediazona reported. It is unknown whether he has already been sentenced. A Homiel woman [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":75,"featured_media":0,"template":"","rubric":[14],"class_list":["post-76631","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=\"March 30, Pozirk. 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