Halina Tsyarentsiyeva, a music teacher from the town of Masty, has been punished for the fact of sharing content made by Belsat on the Internet in the year of 2019, the human rights centre Viasna reports.
Halina teaches solfeggio and music literature at the children’s art school in Masty (Hrodna region). In December, she was detained at her workplace, after which she was kept in a local pre-trial detention centre for a day. The police officers searched Tsyarentsiyeva’s apartment and confiscated not only a laptop and a phone, but also… a robot vacuum cleaner. Her only ‘fault’ was one-time sharing a Belsat article in social networks more than two years ago.
A protocol was drawn upon the woman under Art. 19.11 of the Code of Administrative Offences (‘distribution of extremist materials’). According to human rights activists, Masty district court found Halina Tsyarentsiyeva guilty and imposed a fine of 640 rubles on her (appr. $240).
In 2021, the websites of Belsat, TUT.by, Tribuna, reform.by, Deutsche Welle, Novy Chas, Current Time and others were recognised as ‘extremist’. It should be noted that the words ‘extremism’ and ‘destructive activity’ are now used by the Lukashenka regime to condemn any manifestation of dissent and protest moods.
Thus, anyone who shares news of the ‘extremist’ portals or even a photo with their logo in social networks or even private messages may be punished. Moreover, the Belarusian security officers interpret the law so that they also punish for posts and messages made before the recognition of materials as ‘extremist’. Under Article 19.11, a fine from 290 to 870 rubles may be imposed on the defendant, as well as administrative arrest and confiscation of equipment which is recognised as ‘means for committing a crime’.
On 3 November 2021, the Belarusian Interior Ministry reported that ‘the citizens who are ‘united with the help of Belsat Internet resources’ were recognised as an extremist formation and ‘banned from conducting their activity in the Republic of Belarus’.
