{"id":121574,"date":"2025-01-13T18:40:17","date_gmt":"2025-01-13T15:40:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/news\/121574\/"},"modified":"2026-03-09T20:10:49","modified_gmt":"2026-03-09T20:10:49","slug":"criminal-code-changes-pave-the-way-for-large-scale-reprisals-lawyer-says","status":"publish","type":"articles","link":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/news\/121574\/","title":{"rendered":"Criminal Code changes pave the way for large-scale reprisals, lawyer says"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\n\n \"\"\n
\n \n
\n (National Legal Information Center)<\/span>\n <\/div>\n <\/figcaption>\n<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

January 13, Pozirk<\/em>. <\/strong>Pavie\u0142 Sapie\u0142ka, a lawyer with the Viasna Human Rights Center, has expressed concern about new changes to the Criminal Code that passed the House of Representatives last week, noting that the legislation paves the way for large-scale reprisals against critics.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In particular, Sapie\u0142ka, a former political prisoner, pointed to a significant expansion of articles that can be used to prosecute Belarusians for crimes allegedly committed abroad.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The list includes the following articles:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    \u2022 130 \u2013 incitement to hatred<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    \u2022 130-1 \u2013 justification of Nazism<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    \u2022 130-2 \u2013 denial of the genocide against Belarusians<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    \u2022 289 \u2013 act of terrorism<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    \u2022 289-1 \u2013 propaganda of terrorism<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    \u2022 290 \u2013 threat to commit an act of terrorism<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    \u2022 290-1 \u2013 terrorism funding<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    \u2022 290-2 \u2013 supporting terrorist activity<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    \u2022 290-3 \u2013 undergoing training for terrorist activity<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    \u2022 290-4 \u2013 forming an organization for terrorist activity<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    \u2022 290-5 \u2013 organizing the activities of a terrorist group<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    \u2022 367 \u2013 defamation of the head of state<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    \u2022 369-1 \u2013 discrediting Belarus<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    \u2022 370 \u2013 insulting state symbols<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    \u2022 373 \u2013 intentional disclosure of state secrets<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    \u2022 374 \u2013 disclosure of state secrets through negligence<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sapie\u0142ka said judges had sentenced more than 3,500 people in Belarus on these charges.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He welcomed the proposal to stop imposing prison sentences on “women and single men raising children under 14 years of age or children with disabilities, people with Group I disabilities who have committed a non-violent crime for the first time that does not pose a great public danger or a less serious crime that did not result in the death of a person through negligence or serious bodily harm.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, the proposal would not apply to political activists persecuted on extremism-related charges.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He went on to say that the bill would authorize police to impose restrictions on those pardoned and require those under preventive supervision after prison to work or study.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The bill includes amendments to the Criminal, Criminal Procedure and Penal Codes, the Code of Administrative Offenses, and the Procedure Code for Administrative Offenses.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

January 13, Pozirk. Pavie\u0142 Sapie\u0142ka, a lawyer with the Viasna Human Rights Center, has expressed concern about new changes to the Criminal Code that passed the House of Representatives last week, noting that the legislation paves the way for large-scale reprisals against critics. In particular, Sapie\u0142ka, a former political prisoner, pointed to a significant expansion […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":83,"featured_media":88141,"template":"","rubric":[16],"class_list":["post-121574","articles","type-articles","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","rubric-politics"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nCriminal Code changes pave the way for large-scale reprisals, lawyer says | Pozirk<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"January 13, Pozirk. 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