{"id":135534,"date":"2025-04-24T12:06:11","date_gmt":"2025-04-24T09:06:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/news\/135534\/"},"modified":"2026-03-10T12:05:06","modified_gmt":"2026-03-10T12:05:06","slug":"reprisals-law-enforcers-punish-criticism-of-lukasenkas-policies","status":"publish","type":"articles","link":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/news\/135534\/","title":{"rendered":"Reprisals: police punish criticism of \u0141uka\u0161enka\u2019s policies"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Briefly: Catholic priest briefly detained, evangelical pastor under arrest<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hrodna man given lengthy prison term on high treason charges<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dozens of criminal cases filed in 2024 over donations to banned groups, media<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

April 24, Pozirk.<\/em><\/strong> New cases of politically-motivated persecution documented in Belarus on April 23 included police harassment of Belarusians who criticized Alaksandar \u0141uka\u0161enka\u2019s decision to invite thousands of Pakistani workers to Belarus amid staff shortages.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A Telegram channel linked to police posted a video featuring a young couple who were most likely forced to apologize on camera for “disseminating fake news” and \u201cwriting angry comments.” Both may face criminal charges. The interior ministry warned that incitement to hatred along with “the destabilization of the situation in Belarus” may lead to criminal charges. \u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Police arrested Aleh \u0141ojka of evangelical Christians in the southern Belarusian town of Chojniki in the Homiel region, the Viasna Human rights Center said. Catholic priest Siarhiej Tryscie\u0144 of the Discalced Carmelites from Minsk was also briefly detained but later released, according to Chry\u015bcijanskaja Vizija.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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

The Hrodna Regional Court sentenced Siarhiej Cierachovi\u010d to 10 years in prison on high treason charges last month, Viasna reported. No further details are available, as the judge closed the trial to the public.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The man reportedly had served as a senior technician at Border Guard Unit 2141 stationed at the Bruzhi border checkpoint at the Belarusian-Polish border until late 2016.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“Extremist” list update<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The interior ministry added the Yamnitsky Flot <\/em>online project and its social media pages to its “extremist” group register, listing Andrej Tupo\u016dski and the late Alaksandar Caruk as members, Pozirk<\/em> reported.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Belarusian authorities filed 44 criminal cases on charges of financing extremist and terrorist activities for alleged support of blacklisted opposition groups, media outlets or initiatives last year, the State Control Committee\u2019s press office said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Other cases<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Last October, Vital By\u010dko\u016d died aged 44, Na\u0161a Niva<\/em> reported. In 2022, the man was given a prison term on charges of threatening violence against a police officer and was later blacklisted as an extremist and a terrorist. There is no record of him having served his sentence.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As of April 24, human rights defenders identified at least 1,198 political prisoners but the real number is considerably higher because many cases go undocumented.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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