2 ethnic Polish journalists living in Belarus arrested

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KYIV, Ukraine – Two ethnic Polish journalists have been detained in Belarus after security agents raided their apartment, according to the Belarusian Association of Journalists.

The arrests Wednesday of Andrzej Pisalnik and his wife, Iness Todryk-Pisalnik, come amid rising tensions between Belarus’ sizeable Polish community and the authoritarian government of President Alexander Lukashenko.

The couple edits the website of the Union of Poles in Belarus and collaborate with Polish media.

There was no immediate information about charges against them. The prosecutor-general’s office said Andrzej Pisalnik had been warned about comments on Polish radio that allegedly were aimed at inciting ethnic discord.

Two leaders of the Union of Poles were arrested in March and are being investigated on suspicion of inciting discord.

The organization is financed by Poland, which has called for sanctions against Belarus in connection with the widescale detention of protesters calling for Lukashenko’s resignation.

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