A court in Minsk has sentenced a Roman Catholic religious instructor, Uladzislau Beladzed, to three years in prison amid an ongoing crackdown on dissent, the Christian Vision group said on Telegram on March 14. Earlier reports said Beladzed was charged with inciting hatred, insulting authoritarian ruler Alyaksandr Lukashenka, insulting an official, and the distribution of pornography. Beladzed was arrested in May 2023 and sentenced to 15 days in jail three times consecutively on a charge of distributing "extremist" materials. Human rights groups in Belarus have recognized Beladzed as a political prisoner. To read the original story by RFE/RL's Belarus Service, click here.
