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		</div><p>The chief editor of a popular Internet news site in one of Belarus’ largest cities was detained on Sunday amid a crackdown on independent journalists and opponents of authoritarian president, Alexander Lukashenko.</p>
<p>Police said they were investigating Hrodna.life editor, Aliaksei Shota, on suspicion of extremism.</p>
<p>The publication focuses on Belarus’ fifth-largest city, Grodno. City police said the website “posted information products that were duly recognised as extremist,” but didn’t give details.</p>
<p>It was not immediately clear if Shota had been formally charged with extremism, which can carry a prison sentence of up to 10 years.</p>
<p>Shota had collaborated with the country’s most popular internet portal, Tut.by, which authorities closed this month after arresting 15 employees.</p>
<p>Belarus’ crackdown escalated a week ago with the arrest of dissident journalist Roman Protasevich and his girlfriend who were aboard a commercial flight that was diverted to the Minsk airport because of an alleged bomb threat.</p>
<p>The flight was flying over Belarus en route from Athens, Greece, to Vilnius, Lithuania.</p>
<p>The move sparked wide denunciation in the West as an act of hijacking and demands for Protasevich’s release. The European Union banned flights from Belarus.</p>
<p>Pratasevich is charged with organising riots, a charge that carries a potential sentence of 15 years.</p>
<p>The day after his arrest, authorities released a brief video in which Protasevich said he was confessing, but observers said the statement appeared to be forced.</p>
<p>The Belarusian human rights group, Viasna, said on Sunday that Protasevich had received a package from his sister but that an unspecified book had been taken from it.</p>
<p>Large protests broke out last August after a presidential election that officials said overwhelmingly gave a sixth term in office to Lukashenko, who has consistently repressed opposition since coming to power in 1994.</p>
<p>Police detained more than 30,000 people in the course of the protests, which persisted for months.</p>
<p>Although protests died down during the winter, authorities have continued strong actions against opposition supporters and independent journalists.</p>
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