{"id":147288,"date":"2025-07-18T11:26:12","date_gmt":"2025-07-18T08:26:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/news\/147288\/"},"modified":"2026-03-10T12:05:06","modified_gmt":"2026-03-10T12:05:06","slug":"reprisals-new-wave-of-arrests-targeting-2020-protesters","status":"publish","type":"articles","link":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/news\/147288\/","title":{"rendered":"Reprisals: new wave of arrests targeting 2020 protesters"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p><strong>July 18, <em>Pozirk.<\/em> <\/strong>New cases of politically-motivated persecution were documented in Belarus on July 16 and 17 as rights defenders reported hundreds of criminal charges linked to participation in 2020 postelection protests. &nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The Viasna Human Rights Center said the scale of the crackdown was shocking and attributed the crackdown to expiring statute of limitations for the violent disorder charge that authorities use to persecute protesters, along with accusations of rioting.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The information ministry announced extremist content designations for <em>free-belarus.info<\/em>, <em>Mahilo\u016d Medyja<\/em>\u2019s social media accounts; <em>Belarusy Frankonii<\/em>, <em>SUT\u2019<\/em>, <em>URBANOVICH<\/em> and <em>TCU News<\/em> on Telegram; <em>girikalex<\/em>,&nbsp;<em>zyviebielarus2020<\/em> and&nbsp;<em>yauhen_brzhus <\/em>on Instagram; and several other pages on VKontakte and TikTok. Authorities also blacklisted two YouTube channels linked to blogger D\u017amitryj Kaz\u0142o\u016d, imprisoned on charges widely seen as politically motivated.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Tomorrow, the Supreme Court will hear an appeal against the 20-year prison sentence to exiled activist Anton Matolka, who was convicted without being present at the trial, rights defender Leanid Sudalenka said on Facebook. Matolka, founder of the now-defunct Bie\u0142ruski Hajun defense monitoring project, was persecuted on extremism-related charges in Belarus.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Law enforcers have been harassing Belarus-based family members of Ale\u015b Dzianisa\u016d, frontman of the Dzieciuki folk-punk band recently branded an extremist group, <em>Radyjo Svaboda<\/em> reported.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>On July 18, human rights defenders identified at least 1,143 political prisoners but the real number is considerably higher because many cases go undocumented.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>A recent decrease in documented cases is attributed to the Supreme Court blocking access to its electronic schedule of trials and database of rulings since early April.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"insert-block\">\n\n    <div class=\"insert-block__img\">\n        <img decoding=\"async\" width=\"354\" height=\"236\" src=\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/motolko-tut.by-1128-354x236.jpg\" class=\"attachment-medium size-medium\" alt=\"\" srcset=\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/motolko-tut.by-1128-354x236.jpg 354w, https:\/\/pozirk.online\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/motolko-tut.by-1128-734x490.jpg 734w, https:\/\/pozirk.online\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/motolko-tut.by-1128-178x118.jpg 178w, https:\/\/pozirk.online\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/motolko-tut.by-1128-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/pozirk.online\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/motolko-tut.by-1128.jpg 1128w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 354px) 100vw, 354px\" \/>                        <label class=\"insert-block__tag--mobile\"> Politics<\/label>\n\n                <\/div>\n    <div class=\"insert-block__text\">\n                    <label class=\"insert-block__tag\">Politics<\/label>\n                <h3 class=\"insert-block__title\">Supreme Court to consider exiled influencer\u2019s appeal against sentence<\/h3>\n        <div class=\"insert-block__descr\">July 17, Pozirk. The Belarusian Supreme Court will consider Anton Matolka\u2019s appeal against sentence on August 19, human rights defender Leanid Sudalenka said on Facebook. On June 3, the Hrodna Regional Court sentenced Matolka to 20 years in prison, without &#8230;<\/div>\n        <a class=\"insert-block__btn-block\" href=\"\/en\/news\/147232\">\n            <button class=\"btn\">\n                <div class='btn__text'>Read the article<\/div>\n            <\/button>\n        <\/a>\n    <\/div>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>July 18, Pozirk. New cases of politically-motivated persecution were documented in Belarus on July 16 and 17 as rights defenders reported hundreds of criminal charges linked to participation in 2020 postelection protests. &nbsp; The Viasna Human Rights Center said the scale of the crackdown was shocking and attributed the crackdown to expiring statute of limitations [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":84,"featured_media":63993,"template":"","rubric":[16],"class_list":["post-147288","articles","type-articles","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","rubric-politics"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v25.5 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Reprisals: new wave of arrests targeting 2020 protesters | Pozirk<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"July 18, Pozirk. New cases of politically-motivated persecution were documented in Belarus on July 16 and 17 as rights defenders reported hundreds of\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/news\/147288\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Reprisals: new wave of arrests targeting 2020 protesters | Pozirk\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"July 18, Pozirk. New cases of politically-motivated persecution were documented in Belarus on July 16 and 17 as rights defenders reported hundreds of\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/news\/147288\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Pozirk\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/pozirkonline\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-03-10T12:05:06+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/pozirk_color_blank_1128x752.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1128\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"752\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@Pozirk_online\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"NewsArticle\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/news\/147288\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/news\/147288\/\"},\"headline\":\"Reprisals: new wave of arrests targeting 2020 protesters\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-07-18T08:26:12+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-03-10T12:05:06+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/news\/147288\/\"},\"wordCount\":263,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/news\/147288\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/pozirk_color_blank_1128x752.jpg\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/news\/147288\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/news\/147288\/\",\"name\":\"Reprisals: new wave of arrests targeting 2020 protesters | Pozirk\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/news\/147288\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/news\/147288\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/pozirk_color_blank_1128x752.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-07-18T08:26:12+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-03-10T12:05:06+00:00\",\"description\":\"July 18, Pozirk. New cases of politically-motivated persecution were documented in Belarus on July 16 and 17 as rights defenders reported hundreds of\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/news\/147288\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/news\/147288\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/news\/147288\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/pozirk_color_blank_1128x752.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/pozirk_color_blank_1128x752.jpg\",\"width\":1128,\"height\":752},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/news\/147288\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Reprisals: new wave of arrests targeting 2020 protesters\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/\",\"name\":\"Pozirk\",\"description\":\"\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/#organization\",\"name\":\"Pozirk\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/cropped-Logo_color_512.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/cropped-Logo_color_512.png\",\"width\":512,\"height\":512,\"caption\":\"Pozirk\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/pozirkonline\/\",\"https:\/\/x.com\/Pozirk_online\"]}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Reprisals: new wave of arrests targeting 2020 protesters | Pozirk","description":"July 18, Pozirk. New cases of politically-motivated persecution were documented in Belarus on July 16 and 17 as rights defenders reported hundreds of","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/news\/147288\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Reprisals: new wave of arrests targeting 2020 protesters | Pozirk","og_description":"July 18, Pozirk. New cases of politically-motivated persecution were documented in Belarus on July 16 and 17 as rights defenders reported hundreds of","og_url":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/news\/147288\/","og_site_name":"Pozirk","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/pozirkonline\/","article_modified_time":"2026-03-10T12:05:06+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1128,"height":752,"url":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/pozirk_color_blank_1128x752.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_site":"@Pozirk_online","twitter_misc":{"Est. reading time":"2 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/news\/147288\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/news\/147288\/"},"headline":"Reprisals: new wave of arrests targeting 2020 protesters","datePublished":"2025-07-18T08:26:12+00:00","dateModified":"2026-03-10T12:05:06+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/news\/147288\/"},"wordCount":263,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/news\/147288\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/pozirk_color_blank_1128x752.jpg","inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/news\/147288\/","url":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/news\/147288\/","name":"Reprisals: new wave of arrests targeting 2020 protesters | Pozirk","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/news\/147288\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/news\/147288\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/pozirk_color_blank_1128x752.jpg","datePublished":"2025-07-18T08:26:12+00:00","dateModified":"2026-03-10T12:05:06+00:00","description":"July 18, Pozirk. New cases of politically-motivated persecution were documented in Belarus on July 16 and 17 as rights defenders reported hundreds of","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/news\/147288\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/news\/147288\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/news\/147288\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/pozirk_color_blank_1128x752.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/pozirk_color_blank_1128x752.jpg","width":1128,"height":752},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/news\/147288\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Reprisals: new wave of arrests targeting 2020 protesters"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/#website","url":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/","name":"Pozirk","description":"","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/#organization","name":"Pozirk","url":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/cropped-Logo_color_512.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/cropped-Logo_color_512.png","width":512,"height":512,"caption":"Pozirk"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/pozirkonline\/","https:\/\/x.com\/Pozirk_online"]}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/articles\/147288","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/articles"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/articles"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/84"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/63993"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=147288"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"rubric","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/rubric?post=147288"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}