{"id":94089,"date":"2024-07-05T13:45:03","date_gmt":"2024-07-05T10:45:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/news\/94089\/"},"modified":"2026-03-10T12:05:06","modified_gmt":"2026-03-10T12:05:06","slug":"reprisals-political-prisoners-list-growing-despite-amnesty","status":"publish","type":"articles","link":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/news\/94089\/","title":{"rendered":"Reprisals: political prisoners\u2019 list growing despite amnesty"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

July 5, Pozirk<\/em>. <\/strong>Over the past two days, rights groups have confirmed the release of 16 people, including opposition politician Ryhor Kastusio\u016d and a mother of four, who were imprisoned on charges widely seen as politically motivated.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

At the same time, eight people were designated political prisoners on Wednesday, with 17 more added to the list today, the Viasna Human Rights Center reports.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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

Pro-government sources said a truck driver from Starabarysa\u016d, Minsk region, was arrested for expressing pro-Ukrainian views in an online chat; IT specialist D\u017amitryj Mar\u010duk, for participating in 2020 postelection protests. The same sources said a soccer fan was arrested in Hrodna for an anti-police tattoo.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

New criminal cases<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Catholic priest Andrej Juchnievi\u010d from \u0160umilina, Viciebsk region, was transferred to a pre-trial detention center after serving several jail terms, Chry\u015bcijanskaja Vizija<\/em> reports. The transfer most likely indicates that the authorities filed criminal charges against him.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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

A judge in Barysa\u016d sentenced U\u0142adzimir Ta\u0142ka\u010d, 70, to three years of restricted freedom in home confinement for writing poems that allegedly insulted Alaksandar \u0141uka\u0161enka and storing them on his personal computer, Viasna reported.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

On June 28, the Brest Regional Court rejected the appeal by jailed anarchist activist D\u017amitryj Rezanovi\u010d against the additional nine months in prison on charges of disobeying prison authorities, the Pravo na Vosstaniye<\/em> Telegram channel said. The activist is serving a 19-year prison term on terrorism-related charges.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Blacklisted and blocked content<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Authorities branded a Russian documentary about \u0141uka\u0161enka’s 30 years in power as extremist content, Viasna said. Other blacklisted content features the Facebook page of the Belarusian community in Poland’s Bia\u0142ystok, a documentary by BelPol resistance group investigating \u0141uka\u0161enka’s involvement in Russia’s war on Ukraine, as well as Lolik<\/em>, traianus_n1<\/em> and Vera Litsvin<\/em> on TikTok.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mahilo\u016d region’s prosecutor blocked access to tribunal.info<\/em>, an opposition initiative monitoring human rights abuse in the country.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As of July 5, <\/a>human rights defenders identified at least 1,422 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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Belarus\u2019 FM lashes out at UN chief over human rights concern<\/h3>\n
July 5, Pozirk. Belarus\u2019 new foreign minister has lashed out at the UN secretary general over his concern about his country\u2019s human rights record. "There's no special case on Belarus in the UN to give [UN Secretary-General Ant\u00f3nio] Guterres the …<\/div>\n \n