New York, October 25, 2024— Belarusian authorities should immediately release Belarusian journalist Ihar Ilyash, who announced his detention while possibly under duress in a video published October 22 on a pro-government Telegram channel, and ensure that no journalists are jailed because of their work, said the Committee to Protect Journalists on Wednesday.
“Ihar Ilyash’s detention is yet another example of the ruthlessness of Aleksandr Lukashenko’s regime. Belarusian authorities will do anything to demean and harass members of the press,” said CPJ’s program director, Carlos Martínez de la Serna, in New York. “Authorities should drop any charges filed against Ihar Ilyash, release him immediately, and ensure that no journalists are jailed for their work.”
On October 22, the pro-government Telegram channel Kniga GU “BAZA” published a video in which Ilyash said that he worked with banned Poland-based independent broadcaster Belsat TV and gave interviews to media outlets that Belarus has labeled “extremist groups.”
“Because of this, I’m detained,” said Ilyash.
The Telegram channel claimed in a caption accompanying the video that Ilyash “was involved in promoting extremist groups and collecting information for foreign intelligence services” with his wife, Belsat TV channel journalist Katsiaryna Andreyeva. She has been detained since November 2020, when she was arrested while reporting live in Minsk, the capital, on mass protests demanding President Aleksandr Lukashenko’s resignation.
Authorities labeled Belsat TV “extremist” in July 2021.
CPJ was unable to determine the date and the location of Ilyash’s detention nor the precise charges brought against him. Authorities have previously detained Ilyash multiple times in connection with his work.
CPJ emailed the Belarusian Investigative Committee, the country’s law enforcement agency, for comment but did not receive any response.
Belarus is the world’s third-worst jailer of journalists, with at least 28 journalists behind bars on December 1, 2023, when CPJ conducted its most recent annual prison census.