Syarhei Pyatrukhin

In late February, popular Belarusian blogger Syarhei Petrukhin who is now being held in prison Nr 4 in Mahiliou, cut his wrists in protest, local activist Uladzimir Shantsau said on Thursday.

The trial over Brest blogger Syarhei Pyatrukhin started at Kastrychnitski district court of Mahiliou.

In a letter published by the newspaper Brestskaya Gazeta, imprisoned blogger Alyaksandr Kabanau says that he and his companion in misfortune Syarhei Pyatrukhin will soon be transferred to a pre-trial detention centre in the Belarusian city of Brest.

A criminal case has been initiated against Syarhei Sparysh, spokesman for the party Narodnaya Hramada and an associate of imprisoned politician Mikalai Statkevich.

On three criminal counts at the same time.

Awakening of popular blogs is associated with activation and politicisation of civil society, which is definitely undesirable for the authoritarian authorities.

The Belarusian authorities opened new criminal cases against bloggers criticising Alyaksandr Lukashenka and the current situation in the country, NEXTA Live Telegram channel reports.

Syarhei Pyatrukhin, an author of YouTube channels People’s Reporter and Youtube Deputies, has been detained on Tuesday afternoon.

Now the blogger and the activist are in the temporary detention center of Leninski district of Brest. This was reported by Brest human rights activist Uladzimir Vialichkin.