Сергей Рябцев. Фото: ВКонтакте
In Belarus, 12 more people have been recognized as political prisoners, the human rights center Viasna reports.
Among them is Siarhei Rabtsau, founder of Belarusian housing rental platforms kdv.by and tutkut.by. The entrepreneur was convicted under an article on “assisting extremist activity.”
Also recognized as political prisoners are Alena Safronava, Volha Bulanava, Dzmitry Kavalyou, Vitaly Tsishchanka, Artsiom Shmanouski, Yauhen Skarakhod, Viktar Antushevich, Aliaksandr Manvelyan, Siarhei Kuzniatsou, Eduard Mihun, and Matvei Baranau. They were detained and sentenced to imprisonment in connection with alleged cooperation with “extremist formations.”
It should be recalled that Belarusian authorities regularly use extremism-related charges to target opponents and dissent more broadly.
According to Viasna, there are currently 910 recognized political prisoners in Belarus.