Belarusian Prosecutors Charge Opposition Bloggers With Repeat Offenses

Muhammad Irfan Published April 13, 2023 | 11:01 PM

Belarusian prosecutors on Thursday charged three opposition bloggers who ran the outlawed Nexta social media group with repeat offenses, in an update to charges filed against them last year

MINSK (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 13th April, 2023) Belarusian prosecutors on Thursday charged three opposition bloggers who ran the outlawed Nexta social media group with repeat offenses, in an update to charges filed against them last year.

Roman Protasevich, Stepan Putilo and Yan Rudik were accused of inciting hatred, organizing mass riots, organizing and running extremist groupings and calling to overthrow the government. Putilo and Rudik are being tried in absentia.

All three were cleared of charges of training and providing material assistance to people involved in unrest that broke out in Belarus after President Alexander Lukashenko was reelected in 2020.

The trio fled abroad after Belarusian security forces cracked down on protesters. Protasevich was arrested after his Ryanair flight from Greece to Lithuania was grounded in Belarus in May 2021, in a move that hit headlines across many countries.

State prosecutors accused Protasevich of running another Telegram social media channel from Lithuania until his arrest. This too was banned in Belarus as extremist media for pushing the same anti-government narrative as Nexta.

Rudik was accused on Thursday of taking over from Protasevich as the channel's administrator. He managed the social media group from June 2021 until May 2022.

The trial has been paused until April 19 to give Protasevich's lawyers time to study new evidence against him and prepare for a new interrogation. The 27-year-old declined to comment on the charges to Sputnik citing procedural rules.

In April 2022, the Supreme Court of Belarus designated Nexta and other affiliated Telegram channels as terrorist organizations. Following the 2020 Belarusian presidential election, the opposition was actively using this channel network to coordinate anti-government protests.