December 13, Pozirk. The Škłoŭ District Court in the Mahiłoŭ region has sentenced imprisoned journalist Ihar Karniej, 56, to eight additional months in prison for disobeying prison authorities, the RFE/RL Belarus Service reported.
Belarusian authorities routinely use this charge to keep political prisoners behind bars longer.
Alaksandar Tarakanaŭ, a judge on the European Union’s sanctions list, presided over the proceedings.
Karniej, a former RFE/RL Belarus Service correspondent, has been in custody since July 2023. In March, he was given three years in prison on charges of association with an extremist group. A few months later, authorities also blacklisted him as an extremist.
The administration of Škłoŭ’s Penal Colony No 17 has reportedly placed the journalist in internal prison several times.
Karniej had a long history of cooperating with independent media. Human rights groups consider him a political prisoner.
