Belarus Arrests Prominent Wikipedia Editor, Sentences Him to 15 Days of Arrest

Friday the Verge reported:The Main Directorate for Combating Organized Crime and Corruption of Belarus (GUBOPiK) has detained prominent Wikipedia editor Mark Bernstein, according to the Belarusian publication Zerkalo. The arrest comes after Bernstein's personal information was shared on GOBUPiK's public Telegram channel. Bernstein is one of the top 50 editors of Russian Wikipedia. The Verge was able to confirm that Bernstein's information - including his social media, Wikipedia handle, and place of work - had been shared in GUBOPik's channel on the messaging app. A video of Bernstein's arrest was also posted alongside his photo and personal details. In the photo itself, Bernstein is accused of "distributing fake anti-Russian information." The channel has since been made private.... In an activity log of Bernstein's purported Wikimedia username, you can see that he's made over 200,000 edits to Russian Wikipedia articles. Currently, his account is described as "blocked indefinitely." "Earlier in March, Slate reported on the same Wikipedia editor and his efforts to ensure the correct information hits pages about the invasion," adds The Byte. On Saturday the human rights site Charter 97 reported that Bernstein was given 15 days of arrest, "according to the Viasna human rights center."

Read more of this story at Slashdot.