Belarusian Journalists Covering Anti-Lukashenko Protests Being Jailed
Some 26 journalists covering more than three months of protests against the reelection of Belarus President Alexander Lukashenko have been jailed, the toll mounting even as he continues to consolidate power.
At least 18 were detained after covering a recent protest, four jailed in a few days as the government continued to suppress demonstrations.
The Committee to Protect Journalists called on authorities to stop prosecuting and arresting them, but it was ignored as the government forged ahead with crackdowns on the press and demonstrators.
A court in Minsk found Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL) Chief Video Editor Yulia Kotskaya guilty of taking part in an unsanctioned rally, a charge she rejected, saying she was covering the event. She was sentenced to eight days in jail, the agency said.
Recently, the European Union finally added Lukashenko to its sanctions list of Belarusian officials accused of taking part in rigging the election in his favor.
The penalties block travel visas and freeze any assets they may have in EU member states while EU citizens and companies are forbidden from lending to them.
The main opposition leader, Svetlana Tikhanovskaya, said she won 60-70 percent of the vote but was forced into exile in neighboring Lithuania, the BBC said.
In August, The Foreign Ministry, shortly after the election, refused to extend the accreditation of several of the RFE/RL's correspondents, requiring them to suspend their work.
Journalist Nasta Zacharevich of internet news portal Zeleny was detained in Minsk while taking photos at a protest march by people with disabilities near Independence Square, according to news reports.
Government officials also began an investigation into two journalists from the popular Telegram channel NEXTA-Live, accusing Stsypan Putsila and Raman Pratasevich, of “organizing mass riots” and “group activities, which grossly violate public order,” said RFE/RL. They face three years in jail.
“This war of attrition on Belarusian journalists is unproductive at best. The political crisis in Belarus persists and journalists will, rightfully, persist in covering it,” said Gulnoza Said, CPJ’s Europe and Central Asia Program Coordinator, in New York. “We call on authorities to stop trying to intimidate the media with beatings, jail sentences, fines, and criminal prosecutions.”
But on Nov. 1, police detained, beat, and confiscated a camera and mobile phone from Zmitser Buyanov, also known as Zmitser Soltan, a correspondent for Poland-based Belsat TV, the outlet reported. The next day he was sentenced to 13 days in jail for “participation in an unsanctioned event and disobedience to lawful demand of officials,” according to the BAJ and newspaper Novy Chas.