{"id":83983,"date":"2024-05-07T12:00:25","date_gmt":"2024-05-07T09:00:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/news\/83983\/"},"modified":"2026-03-10T12:05:06","modified_gmt":"2026-03-10T12:05:06","slug":"reprisals-authorities-seek-to-ban-opposition-content-as-charges-grow-more-serious","status":"publish","type":"articles","link":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/news\/83983\/","title":{"rendered":"Reprisals: police bring serious charge for sharing opposition content"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

May 7, Pozirk<\/em>. <\/strong>Over the past three days, authorities have kept applying extremism designations to ban content created by opponents and started using criminal charges to punish people who share it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The interior ministry’s organized crime unit threatened more severe penalties for disseminating opposition content as it accused a man of facilitating extremism for sharing a news article from a media outlet deemed extremist in Belarus, zerkalo.io <\/em>reported.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Many other cases of recently documented politically-motivated persecution were also linked to politically-sensitive social media posts, including arrests of several employees of paint, dairy canning and some private companies in Lida, Hrodna region.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Courts across the Hrodna region heard several cases against people who shared opposition content: two men were jailed for 10 days, two Hrodna women and an engineer in Zelva were fined 1,200 rubels ($372) each, while other verdicts remain unknown, the Pravo Imeyut <\/em>Telegram channel said.   <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ivan Savicki, a co-owner of UnionMedia advertising agency, went on trial in Minsk for allegedly sharing opposition images on his social media and chanting opposition slogans during Moscow’s half-marathon, Na\u0161a Niva<\/em> reported.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cExtremist\u201d designations<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Authorities branded more social media pages as extremist content, including Roman Popkov<\/em>, Zona Vlasti Belarus<\/em>, InformNapalm<\/em> on Telegram; NEXTA Plus<\/em> and \u015aviat\u0142ana Cichano\u016dskaja<\/em> on YouTubes; Facebook pages of Belarusian diasporas in Lithuania and Germany; rocket_brutto_<\/em>, belveterans<\/em>, Belarus. socdems<\/em>, and reformby<\/em> on TikTok, the information ministry said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Authorities also blacklisted two books by Vac\u0142a\u016d \u0141asto\u016dski and Ale\u015b Pietra\u0161kievi\u010d that Bie\u0142aruski Knihazbor published in 1997 and 2017, respectively. \u0141asto\u016dski stood at the origins of the Belarusian National Republic and was shot in 1938. Pietra\u0161kievi\u010d was a Belarusian and Soviet playwright who headed the Minsk Institute of Culture from 1975 to 1992.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The interior ministry announced 23 new additions to its extremist list, including Halina Kra\u015bnianskaja, Valeryj Samsonienka and photojournalist Alaksandar Zianko\u016d who are serving prison terms on charges widely seen as politically motivated.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Protest-related cases<\/p>\n\n\n\n

On April 30, a judge in Homiel sentenced entertainer Jahor Zien\u010danka to two years in prison on protest-related charges, the Viasna Human Rights Center reported. About two weeks earlier, Alaksiej Savicki was given 18 months of restricted freedom in home confinement in a similar case. Authorities claimed he blocked traffic in Minsk during 2020 protests, awarding 5,980 rubels ($1,854) in damages against him.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Pavie\u0142 \u0141uka\u0161evi\u010d went on trial in Hrodna on charges of association with an extremist group, insulting officials and a judge, Viasna said. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Authorities released Danii\u0142 Chabaviec and Mark Antona\u016d after they had served prison terms for participating in 2020 postelection protests in Brest, Viasna reported.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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

In mid-April, a judge in Minsk convicted six people in connection with a 2020 protest rally without the defendants being present, Viasna reported. Anatol Astro\u016dski, Viktar Puzan, Alaksandar Ciarluk, Iryna Sta\u0142oka and Hienad\u017a Hutar were given two-year prison terms each; Vital Pachom\u010dyk, two years and a fine of 12,000 rubels ($3,720).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Investigative Committee said it filed criminal charges against exiled activists Kaciaryna Tumanava, Alina Halinskaja and Andrej Zuje\u016d for participating in 2020 protests. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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

Authorities added nine months to the 19-year prison term for jailed anarchist D\u017amitryj Rezanovi\u010d for allegedly disobeying the prison administration, the Pravo na Vosstaniye<\/em> Telegram channel reported.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In early April, a judge in Re\u010dyca, Homiel region, approved compulsory treatment in a psychiatric hospital for D\u017amitryj Pier\u0161yn, accused of insulting and defaming Alaksandar \u0141uka\u0161enka, Viasna’s Homiel branch said. On May 3, the interior ministry blacklisted him as an extremist.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As of May 7, human rights defenders identified at least 1,380 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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