{"id":171235,"date":"2026-01-12T11:08:56","date_gmt":"2026-01-12T08:08:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/news\/171235\/"},"modified":"2026-03-10T12:05:06","modified_gmt":"2026-03-10T12:05:06","slug":"opposition-leader-calls-for-statkievics-release-four-months-after-his-reimprisonment","status":"publish","type":"articles","link":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/news\/171235\/","title":{"rendered":"Opposition leader calls for Statkievi\u010d\u2019s release after his reimprisonment"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<figure class=\"block-image block-image-normal\">\n\n  <img decoding=\"async\" width=\"719\" height=\"477\" src=\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/statkevich-granitsa-customs.jpg\" class=\"attachment-full size-full\" alt=\"\" srcset=\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/statkevich-granitsa-customs.jpg 719w, https:\/\/pozirk.online\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/statkevich-granitsa-customs-354x236.jpg 354w, https:\/\/pozirk.online\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/statkevich-granitsa-customs-178x118.jpg 178w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 719px) 100vw, 719px\" \/>\n  <figcaption>\n      <div class=\"block-image__descr\">\n\n        Mika\u0142aj Statkievi\u010d at the Belarusian-Lithuanian border, September 11, 2025\n    <\/div>\n  \n       <div class=\"block-image__author\">\n                <span>CCTV \/ Still by Pozirk<\/span>\n    <\/div>\n     <\/figcaption>\n<\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>January 12, <em>Pozirk<\/em>.<\/strong> Belarusian opposition leader \u015aviat\u0142ana Cichano\u016dskaja has called for the release of opposition politician Mika\u0142aj Statkievi\u010d, who was pardoned in September 2025 but was returned to prison after refusing to leave Belarus.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cInstead of forced deportation, he was taken back to prison again. He must be released immediately,\u201d she said on X.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Statkievi\u010d was one of 52 Belarusian dissidents liberated four months ago as part of Alaksandar \u0141uka\u0161enka\u2019s deal with Washington. All freed people were taken to Lithuania, except for Statkievi\u010d, who refused to leave Belarus and remained for several hours at the Kamienny \u0141oh border checkpoint on the Belarusian-Lithuanian border, as confirmed by CCTV footage.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In November 2025, the interior ministry informed his family members that he is serving his original 14-year prison sentence.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Statkievi\u010d was initially arrested ahead of the 2020 presidential election and then sentenced to a lengthy prison term on charges widely seen as politically motivated. In 2022, Belarusian authorities designated him as an \u201cextremist.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>UN officials have repeatedly contacted Minsk regarding the alleged ill-treatment of the politician in prison, including incommunicado detention, and \u201cthe devastating effect of this ill-treatment on his health due to his advanced age.\u201d<\/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\/04\/spch_oon_logo_ohchr_1128x752-354x236.jpg\" class=\"attachment-medium size-medium\" alt=\"\" srcset=\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/spch_oon_logo_ohchr_1128x752-354x236.jpg 354w, https:\/\/pozirk.online\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/spch_oon_logo_ohchr_1128x752-734x490.jpg 734w, https:\/\/pozirk.online\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/spch_oon_logo_ohchr_1128x752-178x118.jpg 178w, https:\/\/pozirk.online\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/spch_oon_logo_ohchr_1128x752-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/pozirk.online\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/spch_oon_logo_ohchr_1128x752.jpg 945w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 354px) 100vw, 354px\" \/>                        <label class=\"insert-block__tag--mobile\"> \u041f\u043e\u043b\u0438\u0442\u0438\u043a\u0430<\/label>\n\n                <\/div>\n    <div class=\"insert-block__text\">\n                    <label class=\"insert-block__tag\">\u041f\u043e\u043b\u0438\u0442\u0438\u043a\u0430<\/label>\n                <h3 class=\"insert-block__title\">UN experts condemn expulsion of pardoned dissidents from Belarus<\/h3>\n        <div class=\"insert-block__descr\">December 9, Pozirk. A group of United Nations experts denounced the recent deportation to Lithuania of pardoned Belarusian dissidents, including opposition politicians, media workers and trade unionists, according to a statement issued yesterday. On September 11, Minsk liberated 52 Belarusian &#8230;<\/div>\n        <a class=\"insert-block__btn-block\" href=\"\/en\/news\/167422\">\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>January 12, Pozirk. Belarusian opposition leader \u015aviat\u0142ana Cichano\u016dskaja has called for the release of opposition politician Mika\u0142aj Statkievi\u010d, who was pardoned in September 2025 but was returned to prison after refusing to leave Belarus. \u201cInstead of forced deportation, he was taken back to prison again. He must be released immediately,\u201d she said on X. Statkievi\u010d [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":84,"featured_media":154944,"template":"","rubric":[14],"class_list":["post-171235","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>Opposition leader calls for Statkievi\u010d\u2019s release after his reimprisonment | Pozirk<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"January 12, Pozirk. Belarusian opposition leader \u015aviat\u0142ana Cichano\u016dskaja has called for the release of opposition politician Mika\u0142aj Statkievi\u010d, who was\" \/>\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\/171235\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Opposition leader calls for Statkievi\u010d\u2019s release after his reimprisonment | Pozirk\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"January 12, Pozirk. Belarusian opposition leader \u015aviat\u0142ana Cichano\u016dskaja has called for the release of opposition politician Mika\u0142aj Statkievi\u010d, who was\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/news\/171235\/\" \/>\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\/2025\/09\/statkevich-granitsa-customs.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"719\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"477\" \/>\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\/171235\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/news\/171235\/\"},\"headline\":\"Opposition leader calls for Statkievi\u010d\u2019s release after his reimprisonment\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-01-12T08:08:56+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-03-10T12:05:06+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/news\/171235\/\"},\"wordCount\":203,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/news\/171235\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/statkevich-granitsa-customs.jpg\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/news\/171235\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/news\/171235\/\",\"name\":\"Opposition leader calls for Statkievi\u010d\u2019s release after his reimprisonment | Pozirk\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/news\/171235\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/news\/171235\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/statkevich-granitsa-customs.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-01-12T08:08:56+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-03-10T12:05:06+00:00\",\"description\":\"January 12, Pozirk. Belarusian opposition leader \u015aviat\u0142ana Cichano\u016dskaja has called for the release of opposition politician Mika\u0142aj Statkievi\u010d, who was\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/news\/171235\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/news\/171235\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/news\/171235\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/statkevich-granitsa-customs.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/statkevich-granitsa-customs.jpg\",\"width\":719,\"height\":477},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/news\/171235\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Opposition leader calls for Statkievi\u010d\u2019s release after his reimprisonment\"}]},{\"@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":"Opposition leader calls for Statkievi\u010d\u2019s release after his reimprisonment | Pozirk","description":"January 12, Pozirk. 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