{"id":95170,"date":"2024-07-12T14:47:56","date_gmt":"2024-07-12T11:47:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/news\/95170\/"},"modified":"2026-03-09T20:10:49","modified_gmt":"2026-03-09T20:10:49","slug":"belarusian-police-arrest-fiba-referee","status":"publish","type":"articles","link":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/news\/95170\/","title":{"rendered":"Belarusian police arrest FIBA referee"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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\n (Zerkalo)<\/span>\n <\/div>\n <\/figcaption>\n<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

July 12, Pozirk<\/em>.<\/strong> Police have arrested Alaksandar Syryca, a prominent basketball official, on his return to Belarus, Euroradio<\/em> reported.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The man has been charged with insulting the head of state and forming an extremist group \u2013 accusations widely used against the government\u2019s political opponents \u2013 in connection with a basketball chat declared extremist.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The date of his arrest is unknown.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Syryca\u2019s wife has also been detained on minor charges under the Administrative Offenses Code.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Some chat participants have been reportedly interrogated.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A FIBA referee since 2005, Syryca officiated at major tournaments involving clubs and national teams.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In 2019, he lost a pay-related lawsuit against the Belarusian Basketball Federation, headed since 2014 by Maksim Ry\u017eanko\u016d, the current foreign minister.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

After 2020, Syryca lived in Australia and often visited Ukraine. He denounced the Russian invasion of 2022.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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