Convicted Radio Liberty freelancer added to the "list of terrorists" in Belarus
The State Security Committee of Belarus has added Radio Liberty freelance consultant, administrator of the opposition Telegram channel "RB of the brain" Igor Losik, sentenced to 15 years in prison, to the "list of terrorists," Nastoyaschee Vremya reports.
According to the newspaper, the Belarusian KGB added 23 more people to the "list of terrorists." Along with Losik, video blogger Siargei Tsikhanousky, who had been sentenced to 18 years in prison in the "Tsikhanousky case," has also been added.
The reason for including Tsikhanousky in this list is the entry into force of the verdict declaring him guilty of committing crimes under Article 130 ("Incitement to racial, national, religious or other social hatred or enmity") and 293 ("Mass riots") of the Criminal Code of the Republic of Belarus," the KGB statement says.
Now the "list of terrorists" of the Belarusian KGB consists of 870 names.
As the publication reminds, Belarusian video blogger Siargei Tsikhanousky planned to run for president of Belarus, but was convicted. According to the investigation, Tsikhanousky and his associates have long been preparing and organizing mass riots in Belarus. The publication notes that some of the defendants were not even personally acquainted with one another. The investigation believes that Tsikhanousky openly called for violence against government officials and law enforcement officers through his YouTube channel and a Telegram channel of the same name, and allegedly incited social affiliation based hostility and enmity in the society.
The publication also notes that the Belarusian IC did not provide any evidence or explanations that would demonstrate the existence of a "group" in which the accused were conducting their activities, any connection between them, or at least prove that they were in contact. For example, it is not said whether Igor Losik had spoken to Tsikhanousky, Statkevich, and the other people involved in the case. The IC statement only lists the names of the people "close" to Tsikhanousky.
As IMI reported, Radio Liberty freelance consultant and administrator of the opposition Telegram channel "RB of the brain" Igor Losik was detained in June 2020 on charges of inciting social hatred "against government officials and law enforcement departments" committed by a group of individuals, as well as organizing mass riots.
Losyk went on a hunger strike to protest the new charges.
On December 3, the Central District Court of Minsk has recognized the informational content on the "Radio Liberty – Belarus" Telegram channel, as well as its analogues on social media and on YouTube video hosting, as "extremist content."
On December 14, 2021, Ihor Losyk was sentenced to 15 years in a penal colony.
Belarusian opposition leader Siargei Tsikhanousky, blogger for YouTube channel "Country To Live In," husband of Belarusian presidential candidate Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya, has been sentenced to 18 years in a maximum security prison.
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