Mother of volunteer soldier fighting for Ukraine detained in Belarus

The Belarusian authorities have detained the mother of former political prisoner and volunteer Cichan Klukač who is fighting on the side of Ukraine.

Source: Radio Svoboda (Liberty); Belarusian branch of Radio Liberty

Details: Detainee Ina Kałackaja lives in Brest. A pro-government Telegram channel states that she has been accused of "involvement in extremism" and is under arrest for charges under the Belorusian Administrative Code. It is not specified under which article the woman was detained.

In January 2021, Cichan Klukač was sentenced to a year and a half in prison under the article on disorderly conduct (Article 342(1) of the Criminal Code of Belarus). According to the investigation, in 2020, Cichan and Sofja Małaševič specially travelled from Brest to take part in the Unity March in Minsk on 6 September. The woman supposedly made "vulgar inscriptions" on the military shields displayed near the Palace of Independence.

At the beginning of the trial, Cichan took the blame, but the Interior Ministry provided a video that did not confirm this. For this reason, the prosecutor dropped the charge of hooliganism, leaving only the article on violation of public order.

Radio Liberty pointed out that this is not the first case of persecution of relatives of Belarusian volunteer soldiers fighting in Ukraine. In April 2023, a court sentenced a 34-year-old resident of Babrújsk, Siarhiej Frančuk, a cousin of Vadzim Kabančuk, deputy commander of the Kastus Kalinowski Regiment, to three years in a general regime penal colony.

While serving his sentence, another criminal case was opened against Siarhiej Frančuk for insulting self-proclaimed Belarusian president Lukashenko. For this, he was sentenced to another six months in prison.

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