{"id":46683,"date":"2023-05-02T12:17:12","date_gmt":"2023-05-02T09:17:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/api.pozirk.online\/articles\/update-on-arrests-trials-politically-motivated-persecution\/"},"modified":"2026-02-24T20:29:13","modified_gmt":"2026-02-24T20:29:13","slug":"update-on-arrests-trials-politically-motivated-persecution","status":"publish","type":"articles","link":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/news\/46683\/","title":{"rendered":"Update on arrests, trials, politically-motivated persecution"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>\n <b>May 2, <span>BPN<\/span>.<\/b> Human rights defenders and media have reported new arrests and sentences in Belarus on April 29, 30 and May 1 as its government continues its relentless crackdown on its critics and political opponents.\n<\/p>\n<p>\n\t Since March, police have been arresting people in Bierazino, Minsk region, on suspicion that they participated in protests during and after the 2020 presidential election or sympathize with the opposition, the Viasna Human Rights Center reported. Some of the detainees have been reportedly jailed for 15 days and may face criminal charges.\n<\/p>\n<p>\n\t Police also carried out arrests across Belarus in the early hours of April 29, targeting railway workers among others, <span>Dissidentby<\/span> reported.\n<\/p>\n<p>\n\t In Hrodna, police arrested Arciom \u0160\u010dypakin for allegedly contacting the opposition Pieramoha chatbot and writing critical online comments about Belarusian police and Russian military, Sudy, Zaderzhania. Grodno i Oblast, a Telegram channel monitoring politically-motivated persecution in Hrodna and the Hrodna region, said.\n<\/p>\n<p>\n\t Pavie\u0142 Amplieje\u016d from Skidziel, Hrodna region, is under arrest for sharing opposition content, Haradzienskaja Pravaabarona said.\n<\/p>\n<p>\n\t Opposition activist Valancina Bo\u0142bat was hospitalized after police had taken her into custody in Vierchniad\u017avinsk, Viciebsk region, volunteer Illa Mirona\u016d reported.\n<\/p>\n<p>\n\t Authorities released Alaksiej Haj\u0161un on April 29 after he had served 18 months in prison for alleged participation in protests, the Homiel branch of Viasna said.\n<\/p>\n<p>\n\t Appeals rejected\n<\/p>\n<p>\n\t The Supreme Court rejected appeals by former MTBank employees Ina Hlinskaja and her daughter Valeryja Hlinskaja, Viasna reported. In January, a district judge sentenced them to seven and six and a half years in prison, respectively. Their persecution is related to <span>Chernaya Kniga Belarusi <\/span>(Eng.: Black Book of Belarus), an online project exposing the identities of security officers who mistreated and brutalized peaceful protesters.\n<\/p>\n<p>\n\t Criminal proceedings\n<\/p>\n<p>\n\t A district court in Mahilo\u016d sentenced jailed blogger U\u0142adzimir Cyhanovi\u010d to one more year in prison for allegedly disobeying prison authorities, Viasna said. Cyhanovi\u010d, who ran the <span>MozgON <\/span>YouTube channel, is currently serving a 16-year prison term on charges widely seen as politically motivated.\n<\/p>\n<p>\n\t Authorities also used a similar charge to prolong the prison term for opposition activist Alena Hna\u016dk, 66, from Pru\u017eany, Brest region. She was originally sentenced to three and a half years in prison.\n<\/p>\n<p>\n\t A district court in Minsk sentenced blogger Ivan Maroza\u016d and his girlfriend Hanna Kavalova to 18 months in prison over 2020 protests.\n<\/p>\n<p>\n\t On May 5, jailed Vasil Dzemidovi\u010d, 71, will go on a new trial at the Puchavi\u010dy District Court, Minsk region, for allegedly insulting public officials. The man had been previously sentenced to six and a half years in prison on similar charges, while the outcome of his second trial still remains unknown. On April 20, a district court in Homiel started hearing another case against him linked to insulting a judge and a public official. Meanwhile, the Committee for State Security (KGB) blacklisted Dzemidovi\u010d as a person &#8220;involved in terrorist activities.&#8221;\n<\/p>\n<p>\n\t Lawyer Alaksiej Barodka will go on trial in Minsk on May 15 for allegedly inciting hatred. The Minsk Regional Bar Association disbarred him following his arrest in late January.\n<\/p>\n<p>\n\t New criminal cases\n<\/p>\n<p>\n\t Police accused Arciom Labied\u017aka of funding extremist activities, <span>BPN<\/span> reported. He has been held in jail since March 28 for alleged minor offenses. His father, prominent exiled Belarusian opposition politician Anatol Labied\u017aka, described his son\u2019s arrest as revenge for his father\u2019s political activity.\n<\/p>\n<p>\n\t Jailed businessman Viktar \u0141amieka from Zelva, Hrodna region, faces charges of slandering Alaksandr \u0141uka\u0161enka, MAYDAY.TEAM reported. He was reportedly severely beaten during his arrest on March 29.\n<\/p>\n<p>\n\t Prison conditions\n<\/p>\n<p>\n\t Authorities transferred Vital Mielnik to Penal Colony No 13 in H\u0142ybokaje, Viciebsk region, Viasna reported. He is currently serving a 13-year prison term for an alleged act of sabotage carried out in protest against Russia\u2019s assault on Ukraine, according to Viasna. Police shot him in the knees during the arrest and he is still using crutches to move around.\n<\/p>\n<p>\n\t Jailed Hrodna student Andrej Hierasimovi\u010d was placed in a punishment cell at Babrujsk Penal Colony No 2, Mahilo\u016d region, where he is serving a two-and-a-half-year prison term over protests.\n<\/p>\n<p>\n\t As of May 2, human rights defenders identified at least 1,497 political prisoners.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>May 2, BPN. Human rights defenders and media have reported new arrests and sentences in Belarus on April 29, 30 and May 1 as its government continues its relentless crackdown on its critics and political opponents. Since March, police have been arresting people in Bierazino, Minsk region, on suspicion that they participated in protests during [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":75,"featured_media":0,"template":"","rubric":[16],"class_list":["post-46683","articles","type-articles","status-publish","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>Update on arrests, trials, politically-motivated persecution | Pozirk<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"May 2, BPN. 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