Polish minority leader was put on Belarusian 'terrorist list'

A reporter and Polish minority leader in Belarus, Andrzej Poczobut, has been put on a ‘terrorist list’ by Belarusian authorities, the Viasna human rights organisation has reported.

Apart from Poczobut, four other persons were put on the list, which now contains 179 Belarusians, including the opposition leader, Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya, Viasna said on the Telegram messaging app on Thursday.

Poczobut has been kept in prison for one and a half years and has been accused of inciting hostility and calling for sanctions against Belarus.

Belarusian rights groups, Poland and the international community consider criminal cases brought against Polish minority leaders in Belarus as politically-motivated and being part of a broader wave of attacks on civil society and freedom of speech in Belarus.