{"id":88742,"date":"2024-06-04T12:30:40","date_gmt":"2024-06-04T09:30:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/news\/88742\/"},"modified":"2026-02-24T20:40:57","modified_gmt":"2026-02-24T20:40:57","slug":"reprisals-comedian-arrested-for-cooperation-with-belsat-tv","status":"publish","type":"articles","link":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/news\/88742\/","title":{"rendered":"Reprisals: comedian arrested for cooperation with Belsat TV"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

June 4, Pozirk.<\/em><\/strong> Belarusian authorities have arrested actor Kiry\u0142 A\u0142achviardzian for cooperating with the Polish pro-democracy TV channel Belsat<\/em>, Mediazona<\/em> reported on June 2. In 2020, he acted as a police officer in comedy sketches. According to preliminary information, he was charged with association with an extremist group.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Other cases of politically motivated persecution were reported on June 1\u20133. For example, a resident of Homiel was arrested for subscribing to “extremist” pages on the Odnoklassniki social network, according to pro-government media.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Law enforcers also arrested Belarusian State University lecturer Aleh Nasa\u0144. They released a video of him admitting that he subscribed to “extremist channels” and reached out to the Black Book of Belarus opposition project.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Another detainee was Stanis\u0142a\u016d \u015aciep\u010danko\u016d, a watchman at M\u015bcis\u0142a\u016d Construction College. In the “confession” video, he said he distributed “extremist and Nazi materials” and signed up for the opposition Victory Plan, the Viasna Human Rights Center<\/em> reported.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Judges in the Hrodna region tried several people for spreading extremist content on the Internet, a typical political charge. Sudy, Zaderzhaniya. Grodno in Oblast<\/em> identified them as Siarhiej \u0141abko\u016d, Ivan Palijenka, Viktar Kule\u0161, Cimafiej Haradko\u016d, Ta\u0107ciana Zapolskaja, Julija \u010cu\u017ea\u016dka and Nadzieja \u0160utava. The verdicts are unknown.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Pravo Imeyut<\/em> reported that on May 18, an unemployed Hrodna resident was fined 400 rubels (some $123) for a swastika tattoo.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A district court in Hrodna tried Anastasija Pia\u0144ko\u016dskaja, Iryna Viejha and Ka\u0441iaryna Makarskaja for undesirable subscriptions. The verdicts are unknown.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Brest Regional Court had scheduled a trial against Alena Cima\u0161\u010duk for May 22\u201331. She was accused of discrediting Belarus, inciting hatred and membership in an extremist group, the charges often used to persecute dissenters. Judge D\u017amitryj Karasinski presided over the proceedings. The name fully matches the one of a local journalist. She worked for the state newspaper Brestskiy Vestnik<\/em> and the Brest TV and Radio Company<\/em>, Viasna<\/em> and the Belarusian Association of Journalists<\/em> reported.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

On May 15, a district court in Minsk sentenced Alaksandar Sajevi\u010d to 2.5 years of restricted freedom, a type of home confinement. He also must pay a fine of 4,000 rubels for allegedly insulting a police officer with his Internet comments.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Literary critic Jazep Janu\u0161kievi\u010d\u2019s foreword to the two-volume \u201cDramatic Works, Narrative Poems and Stories\u201d by Vincent Dunin-Marcinkievi\u010d was added to the list of extremist content based on the May 24 ruling by the \u017dytkavi\u010dy District Court, the information ministry reported.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

At least 28 political prisoners, including Andrej D\u017amitryje\u016d, U\u0142adzimir Ma\u0142acho\u016dski, Andrjej \u0160ulhat and Alesia Bunievi\u010d, were released in May.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Viasna Homiel<\/em> also learned that political prisoner Alaksandar Ivano\u016d served his sentence in full and went free on April 21.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Belarusian human rights groups declared 29 people to be “former political prisoners.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As of June 30, human rights defenders identified at least 1,394 current 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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