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Belarusian Rock Group Labeled Extremist, Banned


Tor Band is the first musical group to be labeled extremist and banned in Belarus.
Tor Band is the first musical group to be labeled extremist and banned in Belarus.

Belarusian authorities have labeled a popular rock group, Tor Band, as "extremist" and banned it after detaining members of the group.

The Minsk-based Vyasna (Spring) human rights center said on January 20 that the Belarusian KGB decided to ban the group four days earlier.

It is the first musical group to be labeled extremist and banned in the country. Its members and their wives were arrested in late October and remain in custody on unspecified charges.

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Read our coverage as Belarusian strongman Alyaksandr Lukashenka continues his brutal crackdown on NGOs, activists, and independent media following the August 2020 presidential election.

Vyasna also said that a court in Minsk set January 31 as the trial date for Andrey and Maryna Zhuk, who are owners of a bar in the Belarusian capital. Popular singer Meriyem Herasimenka sang songs by the Ukrainian rock group in Ukrainian in August on the terrace of the bar owned by the Zhuks.

The couple was charged with "actively participating in group actions that grossly violate public order." If convicted, they may face up to four years in prison.

Herasimenka's trial on the same charge started on January 19.

Separately, the Nasha Niva online newspaper said on January 20 that brothers Dzmitry and Uladzimer Karakin, founding members of the rock group Litesound, were arrested in October along with their parents Yury and Volha Karakin. The band represented Belarus at the 2012 Eurovision Song Contest in Azerbaijan.

The musicians' father was later transferred to house arrest after suffering a stroke while in custody.

The family members were charged with the "organization and preparation of activities that blatantly violate social order." They face lengthy prison terms if convicted.

Dzmitry and Uladzimer Karakin openly protested the official results of a presidential election in August 2020 that declared the authoritarian ruler of Belarus, Alyaksandr Lukashenka, the winner despite widespread belief that the vote was rigged.

They also protested Russia's ongoing unprovoked invasion of Ukraine that was launched last February.

In another case, the Minsk City Court on January 20 sentenced Ina Hlinskaya and her daughter Valeryya to seven years and 6 1/2 years in prison, respectively, on charges of inciting social hatred and the misuse of the personal data of law enforcement officers.

The two women, who worked for MTBank before their arrest more than a year ago, were accused of providing the personal data of law enforcement officers involved in the brutal dispersal of rallies protesting the election results to the so-called online Black Book of Belarus.

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