either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter
or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources
Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content
A 20-year-old female student has been sentenced to six and a half years in a Belarusian prison for criticizing Russia's war in Ukraine online
She was accused of posting the message online February 27
An unconfirmed report has stated that her partner is from Ukraine
Perednia was sentenced by the Kirawsk district court in the Mahilow region of eastern Belarus after being found guilty of causing harm to the national interests of the Republic of Belarus and insulting its president
who is widely known as "Europe's last dictator."
The young woman was reportedly an excellent student at the Mahilow State A. Kuleshov University but has since been expelled and was deemed on June 10 to be a "person involved in terrorist activities" by the Belarusian <a href="https://www.newsweek.com/topic/kgb" data-sys="1" class="multivariate">KGB</a>
The sentence was reportedly handed down Friday. Perednia had been accused of reposting a text in a chat online, criticizing Russian President <a href="https://www.newsweek.com/topic/vladimir-putin" data-sys="1" class="multivariate">Vladimir Putin</a> and Lukashenko for the invasion of Ukraine and calling for street protests
there are reportedly 1,232 political prisoners in Belarus
with reportedly over a thousand people having been detained since the beginning of the Russian invasion of Ukraine
The "Viasna" Human Rights Center said that a majority of Belarusian citizens are against the war in Ukraine
but speaking up can come at a high cost in the dictatorship
Russia invaded Ukraine on February 24 in what the Kremlin is still calling a "special military operation." Wednesday marks the 133rd day of the invasion
Perednia is the latest in a long list of people accused
convicted and/or sentenced in relation to Russia's invasion of Ukraine
NHL player Ivan Fedotov was <a href="https://www.newsweek.com/rising-russian-nhl-player-detained-forced-enlist-putins-army-1721122" target="_blank" rel="noopener" class="multivariate">reportedly detained</a> in St
A Russian hockey player for the Philadelphia Flyers
Fedotov was detained over suspicions of evading the Russian army
The 25-year-old has allegedly violated article 328 of the Criminal Code "evasion of military or alternative civilian service," for which he could face up to two years in prison
This story was provided to Newsweek by<a href="https://www.zenger.news/" rel="nofollow" class="multivariate"> Zenger News</a>
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground
Newsletters in your inbox <a href="/newsletter" title="See all newsletter">See all</a>