Belarusian Association of Journalists

BAJ’s review of 2022 highlights 33 journalists in prison, 17 heavy prison sentences, and nine media outlets classified as “extremist organisations”.

Press freedom experts met in Lithuania to discuss Belarus’s ongoing crackdown on independent media, which has seen approximately 400 journalists forced into exile and 32 still behind bars.

Arrested in March 2021 and facing up to three years in prison if convicted on the dubious charge of “interference in the activities of an internal affairs officer”, Ivashyn has spent part of his detention in solitary confinement, where he also suffered a heart attack.

In 2020, Belsat TV journalist Darya Chultsova was convicted – along with journalist Katsaryna Andreyeva – of dubious public order offences after she covered anti-Lukashenka protests in Minsk.

Since the presidential election of 9 August 2020, Belarusian media have faced unprecedented pressure including the tightening of legal regulations, the recognition of many independent media outlets as “extremist organisations” and their publications as “extremist materials,” the restriction of access to independent media websites, and the mass arrest and detention of journalists.

A court in Minsk has sentenced sociologist Tatsyana Vadalaskaya to a lengthy prison sentence while prosecutors in another case have recommended a harsh sentence for journalist Aksana Kolb on charges related to the anti-Lukashenka protests of 2020.

Several Belarusian media workers will face trial on a range of charges. Those charged with treason – including former deputy director of BelaPAN Andrei Aliaksandrau and Belsat TV journalist Katsiaryna Andrejeva – face 15 years in prison if convicted.

Exiled opposition leader Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya has made a global call to support independent journalism on the International Day of Solidarity with Belarus (February 9). BAJ has provided a guide for how to do this.