Belarus / Europe & Central Asia

New York, September 17, 2025—The Committee to Protect Journalists condemns Tuesday’s sentencing of Belarusian journalist Ihar Ilyash to four years in jail and a fine of 4,200 rubles (US$1,240) on charges of promoting “extremist” activities and “discrediting” Belarus.  Separately, on September 13, the independent news website Pozirk reported that journalist Kiryl Pazniak had been detained in early September on suspicion of involvement with a…

New York, September 11, 2025—The Committee to Protect Journalists welcomes the release of at least eight Belarusian journalists, who were among 52 political prisoners freed on Thursday as the United States announced it was lifting sanctions on Belarus’ national airline. “CPJ celebrates that at least eight Belarusian journalists can finally return to their families after being freed from prison. They…

New York, August 26, 2025—A Belarusian court convicted freelance journalist Aleh Supruniuk on charges of participating in an “extremist” group” and sentenced him to three years imprisonment on August 8. His sentencing was made public August 25 by the Belarusian Association of Journalists (BAJ), an advocacy and trade group operating from exile. “The sentencing of journalist Aleh Supruniuk to three years in…

Paris, June 23, 2025—The Committee to Protect Journalists welcomes the release of Ukrainian journalist Vladyslav Yesypenko and Belarusian journalist Ihar Karnei, who had been unjustly detained for years by Russia and Belarus, respectively.   Russia freed Yesypenko on June 20 after he served a five-year prison sentence on charges of possessing and transporting explosives, which he denied. Karnei, detained for nearly two…

Documentary filmmaker Maryia Bulavinskaya’s love of history led her to buy a traditional wood home in the Belarusian village of Rogi-Iletsky in 2019. Her plans to renovate and eventually live in the house were put on hold in 2020 when she fled the country out of fear of being detained for her coverage of anti-government…

New York, April 2, 2025— Belarusian authorities should immediately release journalist Anatol Sanatsenka, who was sentenced to 15 days of administrative detention on March 31 on accusations of distributing “extremist” content, said the Committee to Protect Journalists on Wednesday. “Belarusian authorities continue to target members of the press in a reign of terror that has plagued the country…

New York, February 27, 2025— Belarusian authorities should immediately release Belarusian journalist Palina Pitkevich, whose trial on charges of participating in an extremist organization is set to start on March 7, and stop jailing the press for their work, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Thursday. “Palina Pitkevich’s detention is yet another grim reminder that…

Haitian journalist Jean Marc Jean was covering an anti-government protest in Port-au-Prince in February 2024 when he was struck in the face by a gas canister fired by police into the crowd. One of at least five journalists injured while covering civil unrest in the country that month, Jean arrived at the hospital with a…

New York, December 19, 2024—A Belarusian court convicted journalist Yauhen Nikalayevich of “organizing or participating in gross violations of public order” and sentenced him to 1½ years imprisonment on October 3 in the southwestern city of Pinsk. The sentence length was only made public on December 19 after a court upheld his conviction earlier this…

New York, December 13, 2024—A Belarusian court on Friday convicted freelance reporter Ihar Karnei of “malicious disobedience to the requirements of the prison administration” and sentenced him to an additional eight months in prison. Karnei is already serving a three-year prison sentence after being convicted in March 2024 on charges of participating in an extremist…