Russia puts Pozirk’s commentators on wanted list

July 23, Pozirk. Prominent political commentators and journalists are wanted in Russia over their alleged links to the Belarusian exiled news agency Pozirk.

The Russian database lists Alaksandar Klaskoŭski, Piotra Rudkoŭski, Germany-based scholar Alexander Friedman and journalist Taćciana Karaviankova.

Earlier, the Belarusian interior ministry blacklisted Pozirk as an extremist group in Belarus. Human rights activist Raman Kiślak was also identified as a member of the group by the interior ministry, but he is not in Russia’s wanted database.

Pozirk was launched by members of Belarus’ oldest independent news agency, BelaPAN. In November 2021, Minsk outlawed BelaPAN as an extremist group and later sentenced three of its staff to prison.

Most independent media outlets have been branded extremist groups for political reasons in Belarus after the disputed 2020 presidential election. Belarusian authorities routinely use terrorism and extremism designations to silence critical voices. Association with an extremist group carries a penalty of two to seven years in prison.

The official Belarusian extremist register contains 300 entries, including more than 40 media outlets and the Belarusian Association of Journalists.

Also read: Pozirk designated as extremist group in Belarus