Belarusian journalist Ihar Karnei sentenced to additional 8 months in prison
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…
Belarusian court sentences 2 journalists on extremism charges
New York, August 6, 2024—Belarusian authorities convicted freelance reporter Ales Sabaleuski and freelance camera operator Yauhen Hlushkou, on extremism charges and sentenced them to four and three years in prison, respectively, on Wednesday, July 31. “The court’s sentencing of journalists Ales Sabaleuski and Yauhen Hlushkou to three and four years in prison is yet another…
Serbia court rules to extradite journalist Andrey Gnyot to Belarus
Update: A Serbian appeals court announced on September 11 that it has sent the extradition case of Belarusian filmmaker Andrey Gnyot for a third review to the Belgrade Higher Court. Gnyot told CPJ on September 12 that he expects the next hearing “will not happen earlier than a month,” saying that “the most dangerous thing” about the…
Belarusian authorities invade homes of 2 exiled journalists
New York, May 21, 2024 — The Committee to Protect Journalists calls on Belarusian authorities to stop harassing exiled journalists and ensure the media can work freely, both abroad and at home. On Thursday, May 16, officers with the Belarusian State Security Committee, or KGB, and representatives of the Ministry of Taxes and Duties sealed…
CPJ calls on Serbia not to extradite Belarusian journalist Andrey Gnyot
Update: A Serbian appeals court announced on September 11 that it has sent the extradition case of Belarusian filmmaker Andrey Gnyot for a third review to the Belgrade Higher Court. Gnyot told CPJ on September 12 that he expects the next hearing “will not happen earlier than a month,” saying that “the most dangerous thing” about the…
Belarus takes more than 20 ‘extremist’ news websites offline
New York, April 23, 2024—The Committee to Protect Journalists strongly condemns Belarusian authorities’ decision to cancel the domain names of news websites they labeled as “extremist” and calls for an end to the use of extremism legislation as a censorship tool to silence independent reporting. In an April 4 order, the Operational and Analytical Center (OAC)…
Belarusian authorities detain at least two journalists in Mahilou
Paris, December 19, 2023—The Committee to Protect Journalists calls on Belarusian authorities to disclose the reason for the recent detention of journalist Ales Sabaleuski and shed light on the whereabouts of journalist Aliaksei Batsiukou. “The detention of journalist Ales Sabaleuski and the disappearance of journalist Aliaksei Batsiukou in the Belarusian city of Mahilou is especially…
Belarusian journalist Alyaksandr Mantsevich sentenced to 4 years in prison
New York, November 3, 2023—The Committee to Protect Journalists condemns a Belarusian court’s Friday sentencing of journalist Alyaksandr Mantsevich to four years in prison for allegedly discrediting Belarus. “Alyaksandr Mantsevich’s four-year prison sentence, the highest provided under the charges laid against him, is yet another example of the Belarusian authorities’ resentful attitude towards independent journalists,”…
Belarus detains journalist Andrei Tolchyn on extremism charges
New York, September 28, 2023—The Committee to Protect Journalists condemns the 72-hour detention of Belarusian journalist Andrei Tolchyn on extremism charges. “Belarusian authorities continue to detain journalists on spurious grounds, with their preferred weapon being extremism charges,” Gulnoza Said, CPJ’s Europe and Central Asia program coordinator said on Thursday. “Authorities should drop all charges against…
Belarusian court sentences journalist Vyacheslau Lazarau to 5.5 years on extremism charges
New York, September 25, 2023—The Committee to Protect Journalists condemns a Belarusian court’s Monday sentencing of journalist Vyacheslau Lazarau to 5.5 years in prison for allegedly facilitating extremism. “Vyacheslau Lazarau’s sentencing to 5.5 years in prison demonstrates how the country’s ‘extremist’ laws have become the most frequent tool the Belarusian authorities use to jail journalists…