Belarus prosecutor requests lengthy prison terms for journalists Raman Pratasevich, Stsypan Putsila, and Yan Rudzik
Paris, April 21, 2023–A Belarusian prosecutor requested a 10-year prison sentence for detained journalist Raman Pratasevich, a 19-year prison sentence in absentia for journalist Yan Rudzik, and a 20-year prison sentence in absentia for journalist Stsypan Putsila during a hearing on Friday, April 21, in Minsk, the capital, news reports said. “The lengthy prison terms…
Belarus tries 3 NEXTA journalists on myriad of criminal charges
Paris, February 16, 2023 – In response to multiple news reports that the trial of Belarusian journalists Raman Pratasevich, Stsypan Putsila, and Yan Rudzik started on Thursday, with Pratasevich facing trial in person and the others being tried in absentia from exile, the Committee to Protect Journalists issued the following statement calling for the many…
Belarusian journalists detained, forced to make ‘confession’ videos
Paris, October 12, 2022—Belarusian authorities are continuing their crackdown on the country’s independent media with a spate of fresh arrests and detentions of several journalists. On Thursday, October 6, police in Minsk, the capital, detained Snezhana Inanets, a reporter at the independent news website Onliner, and her husband Aliaksandr Lychavko, a local historian and reporter…
CPJ condemns Belarus ‘witch hunt’ after three BelaPAN journalists sentenced to lengthy prison terms
Paris, October 6, 2022 – Belarusian authorities must immediately release Andrei Aliaksandrau, Dzmitry Navazhylau, and Iryna Leushyna, three former and current employees of independent Belarusian news agency BelaPAN who were sentenced to prison terms ranging from 4 to 14 years on various charges, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Thursday. All three have denied the charges, and Leushyna and…
CPJ condemns 13-year sentence for Belarusian journalist Dzianis Ivashyn
Paris, September 14, 2022 – In response to multiple news reports that a court in Belarus on Wednesday convicted and sentenced Dzianis Ivashyn to 13 years and one month in prison for treason and interfering with law enforcement, the Committee to Protect Journalists issued the following statement condemning the court ruling: “CPJ is deeply shocked…
Imprisoned Belarus journalist Katsiaryna Andreyeva begins new trial on treason charges
New York, July 5, 2022 – Belarus authorities should immediately and unconditionally release journalist Katsiaryna Andreyeva and stop prosecuting members of the press over their work, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Tuesday. On July 4, Andreyeva’s trial on treason charges started behind closed doors in the southeastern city of Homel, according to a Facebook post by…
At least five independent Belarusian journalists face trials, years in jail
Paris, June 3, 2022 – Ahead of the imminent trials of at least five independent Belarusian journalists, the Committee to Protect Journalists calls on the country’s authorities to drop the charges against them and immediately release them from jail, CPJ said Friday. The journalists, whose trials are scheduled to begin between Monday, June 6,…
Belarus Supreme Court dissolves Belarusian Association of Journalists
Stockholm, August 27, 2021 – In response to today’s ruling by the Supreme Court of Belarus to dissolve the Belarusian Association of Journalists, the country’s largest independent media association, the Committee to Protect Journalists issued the following statement: “Authorities’ shameless forced closure of the Belarusian Association of Journalists is an escalation of the country’s long-running…
Belarusian journalist Syarhey Hardzievich jailed for insulting president, police
Stockholm, August 12, 2021 – Belarusian authorities should immediately release journalist Syarhey Hardzievich and cease jailing independent reporters in retaliation for their work, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. On August 2, the Ivanavskiy District Court in the country’s southwestern Brest region convicted Hardzievich, a correspondent with the independent regional news website Pershy Region,…
Tut.by reporter Lyubov Kasperovich sentenced to 15 days for covering trial
Vilnius, Lithuania, May 17, 2021 — Belarusian authorities must immediately release journalist Lyubov Kasperovich and stop persecuting members of the press for their work, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. Today, the Maskouvsky District Court in Minsk, the Belarusian capital, sentenced Kasperovich, a reporter for Belarusian independent news website Tut.by, to 15 days of detention,…