{"id":82257,"date":"2024-04-26T11:16:35","date_gmt":"2024-04-26T08:16:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/news\/82257\/"},"modified":"2026-02-24T20:40:57","modified_gmt":"2026-02-24T20:40:57","slug":"reprisals-authorities-come-after-baptist-preacher","status":"publish","type":"articles","link":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/news\/82257\/","title":{"rendered":"Reprisals: police arrest Baptist preacher"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

April 26, Pozirk.<\/em><\/strong> Police in Minsk have arrested Mika\u0142aj Chi\u0142o, a preacher of the Dabravie\u015bcie congregation of Evangelical Christian Baptists, Chry\u015bcijanskaja Vizija reported yesterday. The reasons are unknown. This may be another incident of pressure on the country’s religious communities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

On the same day, a pro-government source reported the arrest of a 65-year-old Brest resident. He is charged with insulting an official, apparently in connection with critical social media posts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Earlier in April, the Astraviec District Court sentenced a Russian man to three days in jail for subscribing to Belarusian “extremist” Telegram channels, Hrodna.Life<\/em> reported.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Viasna Human Rights Center reported even harsher sentences.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ja\u016dhien Prudnika\u016d and Volha Prudnikava were sentenced to two years in prison for protesting. Prosecutors used Prudnikava’s pictures on Facebook, witness testimony and mobile operator data as evidence.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Earlier, in March, the Viciebsk District Court sentenced Siarhiej Melnika\u016d to 13 months in prison for insulting the head of state. Authorities seized his mobile phone as a “means of committing the crime.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Yesterday also brought positive news, such as the release of the Belarusian Popular Front leader’s daughter. Kaciaryna Kastusiova spent<\/a> three days in a Mahilo\u016d jail.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Photographer Alaksandar Vasiukovi\u010d, sentenced to three years of restricted freedom, a type of home confinement, was evacuated from the country, according to the Belarusian Association of Journalists. He was arrested in the fall of 2023, and on January 18, a judge found him guilty of protesting,<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The UN Human Rights Committee registered an appeal by an unnamed Belarusian woman. According to Viasna, she is challenging her criminal prosecution for taking part in protests in 2020.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As of April 26, human rights defenders identified at least 1,398 political prisoners but the real number is considerably higher because many cases go undocumented. Opposition sources estimate the number of political prisoners at around 5,000.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Jailed party leader's daughter freed after days in detention<\/h3>\n
April 25, Pozirk. Kaciaryna Kastusiova, a daughter of the Belarusian Popular Front leader Ryhor Kastusio\u016d, has been freed after three days in a Mahilo\u016d jail, the Mayday.Team rights group reported without providing any details. Police arrested Kastusiova on April 22. …<\/div>\n \n