September 19, Pozirk. On September 26, the Pinsk City and District Court, Brest region, will begin the trial of journalist Jaŭhien Nikałajevič, the Belarusian Association of Journalists (BAJ) reported.
Four years ago, Nikałajevič, a cameraman with the regional outlet Media-Polesye at the time, covered protests in the city against fraud in the presidential election. Now he is charged with violent disorder for his alleged role in the protests.
The BAJ said he had been detained performing professional duties on August 10, 2020. It quoted witnesses saying that police officers beat him up in a toilet inside the Pinsk City Executive Committee and then in a prisoner transport vehicle.
Nikałajevič was taken to the Pinsk Police Department, then to a local detention center, and then to a punishment cell at a penal colony in Ivacevičy, Brest region.
People who saw the journalist a week after his arrest noticed signs of beating on his face. Media-Polesye reported a black eye.
Nikałajevič’s last video report on the website is dated June 2021. It is unclear whether he was doing journalism recently, the BAJ said.
Thirty-three media professionals are behind bars, it added.
