Another criminal case has been opened against the author of Novy Chas Mikola Dziadok

Author­i­ties have accused jailed oppo­si­tion politi­cian Miko­la Dzi­adok of dis­obey­ing the prison admin­is­tra­tion days before his sched­uled release this month, a Telegram chan­nel mon­i­tor­ing his per­se­cu­tion said.

The author­i­ties rou­tine­ly use the charge to keep promi­nent crit­ics behind bars longer.

Dzi­adok, at the end of his five-year prison term, was trans­ferred to a pre-tri­al deten­tion cen­ter in Kaladz­ičy just out­side Min­sk pend­ing a new tri­al.

Secu­ri­ty forces arrest­ed Dzi­adok, an anar­chist leader whose Telegram chan­nel was very influ­en­tial dur­ing the post­elec­tion protests, in Novem­ber 2020 in the Mahiloŭ region’s Asipovičy dis­trict. The activist was severe­ly beat­en and pep­per sprayed dur­ing the arrest. He was found guilty on protest-relat­ed charges a year lat­er.

Dzi­adok told the court that after his arrest that police “beat him, used a stun gun and threat­ened with rape,” demand­ing Telegram chan­nels’ pass­words and admin­is­tra­tors’ iden­ti­ties. His asso­ciates say that he was ill-treat­ed the fol­low­ing years behind bars.

Human rights groups say Dziadok’s per­se­cu­tion is polit­i­cal­ly moti­vat­ed.