TALLINN, Estonia (AP) — Prominent Belarusian human rights group Viasna on Tuesday denounced an extension of the detention of a Roman Catholic priest jailed after displaying the Ukrainian flag in a social media post.
Andrzej Jukhniewicz was arrested in early May and charged with carrying out an unauthorized picket action for displaying the flag. Belarus is a close ally of Russia and although it has not sent troops to Ukraine, it has hosted Russian troops and missiles deployed in Ukraine.
The priest’s capture comes in the midst of a major and serious event crackdown on dissent in Belarus it started as a wave of large and persistent protests had the country in its grip in 2020. The protests began after elections whose official results gave authoritarian Alexander Lukashenko a sixth term in office, although the results generally seen as manipulated.
An estimated 35,000 people were arrested during the crackdown, many beaten by police, and Belarus’ most prominent opposition figures fled the country or were jailed – including Viasna’s founder. Ales Bialiatskya winner of the Nobel Peace Prize.
Jukhniewicz was due to be released from prison this week, but authorities continued his detention until July 2 without explanation, according to a Belarusian Catholic website.
In a statement, Viasna called for the release of Jukhniewicz and all other people she considered political prisoners, and for an end to the repression of dissidents.
