{"id":198069,"date":"2026-07-31T16:40:07","date_gmt":"2026-07-31T13:40:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/news\/198069\/"},"modified":"2026-07-31T16:40:09","modified_gmt":"2026-07-31T13:40:09","slug":"rights-groups-name-eight-new-political-prisoners","status":"publish","type":"articles","link":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/news\/198069\/","title":{"rendered":"Rights groups name eight new political prisoners"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p><strong>July 31, <em>Pozirk.<\/em> <\/strong>Belarusian human rights defenders have declared eight more individuals as political prisoners in the second statement issued today and posted on the Viasna Human Rights Center\u2019s website.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Earlier today, human rights defenders identified 13 political prisoners.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The eight new additions include imprisoned Vital Musi\u0142ovi\u010d, Vadzim Sarakavik, Andrej Sudzibor, Alaksandar A\u016ddzievi\u010d, Aalksandar Ja\u017ee\u016dski, Alaksiej \u0160ach\u0142aj, Michai\u0142 Filipienka, as well as Mika\u0142aj Bahdan\u010dyk, serving a restricted freedom term in an open-type correctional facility.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Authorities persecuted them on charges ranging from inciting hatred and insulting officials to facilitating extremist activities and high treason.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Rights defenders expressed concern over authorities\u2019 use of high treason charges to suppress citizens\u2019 rights and freedoms, including in cases involving lawful or anti-war activities. They said the vague wording of the relevant Criminal Code article allows for lengthy prison sentences for actions that do not pose a threat to the interests of the state or society.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Viasna, Pravavaja Inicyjatyva, Lawtrend and Belarusian PEN signed the declaration, demanding the immediate release of all political prisoners and the end of reprisals.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>As of July 31, human rights defenders identified at least 883 political prisoners in Belarus, but the real number is considerably higher because many cases go undocumented.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"insert-block\">\n\n    <div class=\"insert-block__img\">\n        <img decoding=\"async\" width=\"300\" height=\"200\" src=\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/zakliuchenie_unsplash_marco_chilese_1128x752-300x200.jpg\" class=\"attachment-medium size-medium\" alt=\"\" srcset=\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/zakliuchenie_unsplash_marco_chilese_1128x752-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/pozirk.online\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/zakliuchenie_unsplash_marco_chilese_1128x752-1024x683.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/pozirk.online\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/zakliuchenie_unsplash_marco_chilese_1128x752-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/pozirk.online\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/zakliuchenie_unsplash_marco_chilese_1128x752.jpg 1128w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/>                        <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\">Rights defenders identify 13 more political prisoners<\/h3>\n        <div class=\"insert-block__descr\">July 31, Pozirk. Belarusian human rights defenders have declared 13 more individuals as political prisoners, taking their total to 875, according to a statement posted on the Viasna Human Rights Center\u2019s website. The recent additions include people taken into custody &#8230;<\/div>\n        <a class=\"insert-block__btn-block\" href=\"\/news\/197992\">\n            <button class=\"btn\">\n                <div class='btn__text'>Read<\/div>\n            <\/button>\n        <\/a>\n    <\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>July 31, Pozirk. Belarusian human rights defenders have declared eight more individuals as political prisoners in the second statement issued today and posted on the Viasna Human Rights Center\u2019s website. Earlier today, human rights defenders identified 13 political prisoners. The eight new additions include imprisoned Vital Musi\u0142ovi\u010d, Vadzim Sarakavik, Andrej Sudzibor, Alaksandar A\u016ddzievi\u010d, Aalksandar Ja\u017ee\u016dski, [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":83,"featured_media":87832,"template":"","rubric":[16],"class_list":["post-198069","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>Rights groups name eight new political prisoners | Pozirk<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"July 31, Pozirk. 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Belarusian human rights defenders have declared eight more individuals as political prisoners in the second statement issued today and","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\/198069\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Rights groups name eight new political prisoners | Pozirk","og_description":"July 31, Pozirk. 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