{"id":8067,"date":"2023-10-26T12:00:43","date_gmt":"2023-10-26T09:00:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/api.pozirk.online\/?post_type=articles&p=8067"},"modified":"2026-03-09T20:10:49","modified_gmt":"2026-03-09T20:10:49","slug":"update-on-arrests-trials-politically-motivated-persecution-60","status":"publish","type":"articles","link":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/news\/8067\/","title":{"rendered":"Update on arrests, trials, politically-motivated persecution"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

October 26, Pozirk<\/em>.<\/strong> New cases of politically-motivated persecution were documented in Belarus on October 25 with more charged over online activities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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

Police arrested a Bie\u0142spiecenierha engineer who admitted under duress to participating in an opposition survey online, a pro-government Telegram channel said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Police also arrested a couple and their acquaintance for participation in 2020 protests after identifying them at a picture available online, a pro-government Telegram channel said. One of the arrested reportedly faces criminal charges.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A woman is under arrest in Minsk for allegedly sharing personal data of over 100 law enforcers and public officials with an opposition project revealing identities of those responsible for postelection violence in 2020, a pro-government Telegram channel said. Police claim they identified at least 10,000 people who contacted the project.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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

Protestant minister Barys \u0141ap\u0161yn was jailed for 10 days in Biahoml, Viciebsk region, for sharing opposition content on Facebook, Chry\u015bcijanskaja Vizija reported.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Jeva Piskun, 70, was convicted in \u017d\u0142obin, Homiel region, on similar charges but the court has not disclosed the sentence, the Homiel branch of the Viasna Human Rights Center said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Judges in the Hrodna region fined a Hrodna man and a father of two in Lida 1,110 ($350) and 740 ($230) rubels, respectively, for sharing opposition content, the Pravo Imeyut Telegram channel said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A judge in Voranava, Hrodna region, fined a local woman 1,110 rubels on similar charges for following opposition accounts on Instagram, the same Telegram channel reported.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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

A judge in Minsk sentenced businessman Ja\u016dhien Kurcevi\u010d to two and a half years of restricted freedom in home confinement for alleged gross violations of public order in connection with the postelection protests, Viasna reported.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ja\u016dhien Cha\u010datura\u016d was given 18 months of restricted freedom in an open-type correctional facility for allegedly abusing state symbols, Viasna said. In court, he admitted to tearing down the official flag from a store building and waving it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Alaksiej Krasnahir went on trial at the Minsk City Court on charges of calling for sanctions and financing extremism, Viasna reported. Extremism financing charges are usually brought against those who donated to opposition solidarity initiatives.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

On October 31, the Supreme Court will hear appeals by D\u017amitryj Zaha\u0142aviec, Anton Chadkievi\u010d and Arciom Labied\u017aka, son of a prominent exiled opposition politician, the electronic court schedule said. All three were given three-and-a-half-year prison terms on charges widely seen as politically motivated.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“Extremist” content update<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Authorities blacklisted the website and social media of the Kastu\u015b Kalino\u016dski Regiment, a Belarusian volunteer unit fighting Russia in Ukraine, as extremist content, the information ministry said. Other additions include several opposition social media accounts, including EX-PRESS. LIVE on Telegram, Volnyjaa on Instagram, and Rogachev Online.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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

The BySol Solidarity Foundation helped Ihar S\u0142u\u010dak and Alina Nahornaja, prominent Belarusian language advocacy activists, to leave Belarus together with their children, BySol head Andrej Stry\u017eak said on Facebook.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Rights groups labeled 39 people who had served prison terms for their political views as former political prisoners, Viasna reported.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As of October 26, human rights defenders identified at least 1,475 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":"

October 26, Pozirk. New cases of politically-motivated persecution were documented in Belarus on October 25 with more charged over online activities. Arrests Police arrested a Bie\u0142spiecenierha engineer who admitted under duress to participating in an opposition survey online, a pro-government Telegram channel said. Police also arrested a couple and their acquaintance for participation in 2020 […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":83,"featured_media":0,"template":"","rubric":[16,15],"class_list":["post-8067","articles","type-articles","status-publish","hentry","rubric-politics","rubric-society"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nUpdate on arrests, trials, politically-motivated persecution | Pozirk<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"October 26, Pozirk. 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