December 18, Pozirk. Journalist Volha Radzivonava has been sentenced to four years in prison for cooperating with the German newspaper Die Tageszeitung, the Belarusian Prosecutor General’s Office said.
According to the prosecutors, Radzivonava contributed a series of articles “with remarks aimed at inciting ethnic and social hatred and discord, discrediting our republic and libeling and insulting the head of state.”
In addition, the judge ordered Radzivonava to give away the income she “obtained through criminal means,” i.e. the royalties. The journalist may appeal the sentence.
Before 2020, Radzivonava worked at KYKY.org and also cooperated with Belarusian and foreign media as a freelancer. She was arrested in March 2024.
The Minsk Regional Court sentenced her to four years in a minimum-security penal colony on December 10. Human rights groups have declared her a political prisoner. Radzivonava’s mother is over 80 and needs permanent care.
The Belarusian Association of Journalists says that at least 45 journalists and other media workers are in prison in Belarus.
