Anatol Sanatsenka was charged with producing and disseminating 'extremist' content. In 2022, he was detained and convicted twice on similar charges, and spent 30 days behind bars.
This statement was originally published on baj.media on 1 April 2025.
Authorities in Belarus have detained Anatol Sanatsenka, former editor-in-chief of the independent regional newspaper Babrujski Kurier. Sanatsenka was arrested on March 28 in Babrujsk, where security forces also searched his residence.
On March 31, he faced an administrative trial at the Babrujsk District and City Court, reportedly on charges related to the distribution and production of extremist content. The court sentenced him to 15 days of administrative detention.
The same day, law enforcement carried out a search at the home of Sanatsenka’s nephew, Vital Sanatsenka, who had previously owned Babrujski Kurier as an individual entrepreneur.
This is not the first time Anatol Sanatsenka has faced legal trouble. In September 2022, he was detained and convicted twice under similar charges, spending 30 days behind bars.
That same month, the Belarusian Ministry of Information blocked access to the Babrujski Kurier website, babruysk.by. On September 26, the Babrujsk District and City Court classified the site’s materials as extremist, effectively shutting down the publication.
