Watchdog

The wife of jailed RFE/RL consultant Ihar Losik has been detained after police searched her apartment in the western city of Baranavichy.

Darya Losik's parents told RFE/RL that police searched their daughter's home early in the morning on October 18, waking her and her 4-year-old daughter, Paulina.

According to her parents, Darya Losik was then told she was to be detained for 72 hours until her pretrial restrictions were decided on an "unspecified criminal case." Police then took her to the regional capital, Brest, they said, adding that their granddaughter is currently staying with them.

Meanwhile, the BGM Telegram channel, founded by Darya Losik's husband, cited several other Telegram channels close to the government as reporting on October 18 that Darya Losik faces a charge over an interview with the Poland-based Belsat, which Belarusian authorities shut down and labeled extremist in July last year.

WATCH: Ihar Losik was initially accused of using his popular Telegram channel to "prepare to disrupt public order" ahead of a disputed presidential election widely believed to have been rigged by Belarusian autocrat Alyaksandr Lukashenka.

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Ahead Of Verdict, Parents Of Jailed Belarusian Blogger Losik Say He's 'Not Guilty Of Anything'

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The United States has called for the immediate and unconditional release of Darya Losik, a State Department spokesman said at a briefing.

RFE/RL President Jamie Fly has also demanded Darya Losik's immediate release and condemned her detainment.

"Darya Losik is guilty of nothing more than advocating for her wrongly imprisoned husband, Ihar Losik. She must be released immediately to care for her daughter, Paulina. The Losik family has endured enough," he said.

Ihar Losik was sentenced to 15 years in prison in December last year on charges that remain unclear. The husband of exiled Belarusian opposition leader Svyatlana Tsikhanouskaya, Syarhey Tsikhanouski, as well as four other bloggers and opposition politicians and activists, were sentenced to lengthy prison terms along with Losik at the time.

Losik and other defendants have insisted the case against them is politically motivated.

The European Parliament (EP) has awarded its 2022 Sakharov Prize to "the brave people of Ukraine" in their battle against Russia's unprovoked invasion in late February.

The EP said in a statement on October 19 that the award went to "brave Ukrainians, represented by their President [Volodymyr Zelenskiy], elected leaders, and civil society."

"This award is for those Ukrainians fighting on the ground. For those who have been forced to flee. For those who have lost relatives and friends. For all those who stand up and fight for what they believe in. I know that the brave people of Ukraine will not give up and neither will we," European Parliament President Roberta Metsola said in the statement.

The annual prize is named after the Soviet physicist and dissident Andrei Sakharov and was established in 1988 by the European Parliament to honor individuals and organizations defending human rights and fundamental freedoms.

Zelenskiy said on Twitter he was grateful to the European Parliament for awarding the prize to the people of Ukraine.

"Ukrainians prove dedication to the values of freedom, democracy every day on the battlefield against the terrorist state of the Russian Federation," he wrote.