{"id":46715,"date":"2023-05-04T12:02:24","date_gmt":"2023-05-04T09:02:24","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\/46715\/","title":{"rendered":"Update on arrests, trials, politically-motivated persecution"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>\n <b>May 4, <span>BPN<\/span>. <\/b>New cases of politically-motivated persecution were documented in Belarus on May 3 as authorities keep persecuting participants in 2020 protests and those criticizing policies of the government online.\n<\/p>\n<p>\n\t Arrests\n<\/p>\n<p>\n\t In Hrodna, police used force to arrest Alaksandr Hajvaronski, the Fair Play cover band frontman, for subscribing to opposition content, the <span>Pravo Imeyut<\/span> Telegram channel reported.\n<\/p>\n<p>\n\t At least four people were arrested in Brest and the Brest region for comments about Alaksandr \u0141uka\u0161enka and the Belarusian military and for sharing opposition content, the Viasna Human Rights Center reported. Brest-based journalist Maksim Chlabiec was also briefly detained.\n<\/p>\n<p>\n\t Viasna reported that U\u0142adzimir Kalada, from the village of Al\u0161any, Stolin district, Brest region, might have been under arrest since March. Authorities fined him 740 rubels (over $250) and confiscated his smartphone for &#8220;liking&#8221; opposition social media posts.\n<\/p>\n<p>\n\t Minsk resident U\u0142adzimir \u017dyharo\u016d is also under arrest, Viasna reported. Authorities have not disclosed any details of his case.\n<\/p>\n<p>\n\t In Mahilo\u016d, a mother of a three-year-old child was arrested for comments in the Telegram messaging app, MAYDAY.TEAM, reported.\n<\/p>\n<p>\n\t Criminal proceedings\n<\/p>\n<p>\n\t The Minsk Regional Court sentenced journalist Raman Pratasievi\u010d, arrested during the forced landing of the Ryanair flight in Minsk in 2021, to eight years in prison, the Belarusian Association of Journalists (BAJ) reported. The EU-based <span>Nexta<\/span> media project founder \u015aciapan Puci\u0142a and journalist Jan Rudzik were given 20 and 19 years in prison in absentia. Authorities accused them of eleven crimes including forming a terrorist group, inciting mass riots and calling for the seizure of power.\n<\/p>\n<p>\n\t A district court in Minsk sentenced Volha H\u0142adkaja to two and a half years of restricted freedom in home confinement in connection with her role in 2020 protests, Viasna said. She used to work as a manager at the <span>Belarus 2<\/span> state-run TV channel but resigned in September 2020.\n<\/p>\n<p>\n\t A court in Pinsk, Brest region, sentenced Kiry\u0142 Hrano\u016dski, 17, to two years of restricted freedom in home confinement, the Brest branch of Viasna said. Police accused the legal minor of insulting \u0141uka\u0161enka and confiscated his smartphone.\n<\/p>\n<p>\n\t Andrej Filip\u010dyk went on trial at a district court in Minsk, Viasna reported. The IT engineer who administered <span>Pa-bie\u0142arusku<\/span>, a satirical Telegram channel, is accused of participating in 2020 protests.\n<\/p>\n<p>\n\t Extremist content update\n<\/p>\n<p>\n\t Authorities blacklisted <span>UDF &#8211; Novosti Belarusi, <\/span>an<span>&nbsp;<\/span>Odnoklassniki accaunt,&nbsp;as well as several Telegram channels and chats as extremist content, including <span>Radio 97 Chat<\/span>, <span>Kastu\u015b Chat<\/span>, <span>Veterany P<\/span><span>ier\u0161aj R<\/span><span>oty<\/span>, <span>Schod Bie\u0142arus Chat<\/span> and <span>Volnaya Terriroriya<\/span>.\n<\/p>\n<p>\n\t As of May 4, human rights defenders identified at least 1,495 political prisoners.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>May 4, BPN. New cases of politically-motivated persecution were documented in Belarus on May 3 as authorities keep persecuting participants in 2020 protests and those criticizing policies of the government online. Arrests In Hrodna, police used force to arrest Alaksandr Hajvaronski, the Fair Play cover band frontman, for subscribing to opposition content, the Pravo Imeyut [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":75,"featured_media":0,"template":"","rubric":[16],"class_list":["post-46715","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 4, BPN. 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