Human rights activists have issued a joint statement, in which they recognized five more people as political prisoners. There are now a total of 262 political prisoners in Belarus, reports the human rights center “Viasna”.
In Belarus, five more people have been recognized as political prisoners by human rights activists. Among them are:
Ruslan Linnik – accused and imprisoned under Article 369 of the Criminal Code (“Insulting a representative of authority”);
Viktar Tsarykevich was sentenced by the Moskovski district court under part 1 and 2 of article 339 (“Hooliganism”) and article 369 (“Insulting a representative of the authorities”) to one year in jail;
Ihar Kapanayka – sentenced by Minsk Frunzenski borough court under Part 1 of Art 339 (“Hooliganism”) and Art 369 of the Criminal Code (“Insulting a public officer”) to a year and a half in prison, a citizen of the Russian Federation;
Ian Rymarau – sentenced by Zhlobin district court under Art 369 of the Criminal Code (“Insulting a representative of authority”) to two years of restricted freedom and sent to an open-type correctional facility to serve his sentence;
Yury Kastsyuk – sentenced by Brest Leninski Borough Court under Art 370 of the Criminal Code (“Insulting state symbols”) for one year of restriction of freedom to be sent to an open-type correctional facility.
Ruslan Linnik. Screenshot from his YouTube channel
Human rights defenders believe that the prosecution and arrest of these persons are politically motivated, related to the peaceful exercise of their views, and demand that the Belarusian authorities stop criminal prosecution against them.
At present there are 262 political prisoners in Belarus.
