September 9, Pozirk. Historian Ihar Mielnikaŭ, jailed a year ago on charges widely seen as politically-motivated, was released on July 2, presumably under a pardon program, the Viasna Human Rights Center says.
He was given four years in prison for allegedly facilitating extremism over his January 2022 interview with Warsaw-based Euroradio about his research and exhibition in the Polish capital.
Belarusian prosecutors claimed that the interview helped promote “extremist activities” among larger audiences despite the fact that the interior ministry blacklisted Euroradio as an extremist group only in July 2022. The defendant reportedly pleaded guilty.
Mielnikaŭ, 45, specializes in the modern military history of Belarus. He earned his doctoral degree from Belarusian State University in 2011. Belarusian authorities branded three of his books as extremist content.
