{"id":85379,"date":"2024-05-16T11:40:49","date_gmt":"2024-05-16T08:40:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/news\/85379\/"},"modified":"2026-03-10T12:05:06","modified_gmt":"2026-03-10T12:05:06","slug":"reprisals-extend-to-russia-as-minsk-seeks-to-punish-regime-critics","status":"publish","type":"articles","link":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/news\/85379\/","title":{"rendered":"Reprisals expand to Russia as Minsk seeks to punish regime critics"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

May 16, Pozirk<\/em>.<\/strong> New cases of politically-motivated persecution documented in Belarus on May 15 showed that regime critics cannot feel safe in Russia following the arrest in the Leningrad province of U\u0142adzimir Marta\u016d, a former intensive care doctor known for his active civic stance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

On top of that, about 400 Belarusians have been added to the Russian wanted database, including 30 former political prisoners, the Viasna Human Rights Center warned.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Within Belarus, authorities arrested a laptop repair technician for following opposition content and tried Aleh Vajtu\u0161ka and Alaksandar Karavaj\u010dyk in the Hrodna region on similar charges, the Pravo Imeyut <\/em>Telegram channel said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Alaksandar Korny\u0161a\u016d, the exiled editor at vkurier.info<\/em> covering the Viciebsk region\u2019s news, was summoned to a court in a case linked to sharing opposition content, the Belarusian Association of Journalists said. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

In mid-April, police searched his parents’ home after the journalist appeared in a broadcast by the Warsaw-based Belsat <\/em>TV channel.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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

Single mother Kaciaryna \u0160ablinskaja-Ivanava went on trial in Minsk on charges of calling for sanctions, participating in protests and inciting hatred in connection with politically-sensitive social media posts, Viasna reported.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Pavie\u0142 \u0141uka\u0161evi\u010d is on trial in Hrodna for allegedly insulting officials and being linked to an opposition group declared extremist in Belarus, Viasna said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Authorities plan to auction off the house of Alena Janu\u0161ko\u016dskaja, a blogger and regime critic from Viciebsk who left Belarus in 2020, according to e-auction.by<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

D\u017amitryj Hapaniuk and Ja\u016dhien Bi\u0142abro\u016dka had served prison terms for participating in protests and posting a reaction on social media, respectively, and were released, the Brest branch of Viasna said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Alesia Bunievi\u010d is also free after serving three and a half years in prison for an alleged illegal crossing of Belarus’ border, Na\u0161a Niva<\/em> reported. She was arrested after returning to Belarus from Lithuania, where she had fled fearing politically-motivated persecution with her husband and a child. Bunievi\u010d will remain under police observation with a ban on foreign travel.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cExtremist\u201d content update<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Authorities branded several social media pages as extremist content, including Insider UA<\/em> and Taksisty\/Minsk<\/em> on Telegram, Svoboda. Ravensto. Bratstvo<\/em> on Instagram and HrodnaPravoBot<\/em> chatbot, the information ministry said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As of May 16, human rights defenders identified at least 1,369 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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