Journalist Iljaš’s trial to resume on September 4

September 1, Pozirk. The Minsk City Court will resume the trial of journalist Ihar Iljaš on September 4. He is accused of facilitating extremism and discrediting Belarus.

“It took [a government-hired expert] several months to conduct a psycholinguistic analysis of Ihar’s analytical texts,” wrote Siarhiej Vahanaŭ, the grandfather of Iljaš’s imprisoned wife, on Facebook.

The court is expected to hear the findings of the government-appointed expert, Professor Siarhiej Liebiadzinki, head of a department at Belarusian State University. Vahanaŭ emphasized that he does not know what conclusions have been drawn.

The prosecutor alleges that Iljaš disseminated “deliberately false information.”

“Frankly speaking, as a professional journalist with more than 60 years of experience and hundreds of analytical and journalistic articles and essays, I am eager to learn what ‘deliberately false information’ Ihar Iljaš supposedly disseminated,” Vahanaŭ commented. “I have read nearly all of Ihar’s texts and have always noted their measured and balanced tone, fact-based logical analysis, and conclusions — sometimes very unexpected ones,” he added.

The trial was adjourned nearly six months ago, on March 12, after the judge rejected Iljaš’s motion to have his articles examined by the State Forensic Examination Center.

Vahanaŭ is the grandfather of Iljaš’s wife, Kaciaryna Andrejeva (Bachvałava), who is serving a lengthy prison sentence. Her prosecution is widely regarded as politically motivated.

Iljaš was arrested in late October 2024 over interviews he gave to media outlets labeled as extremist by the government.

Human rights groups consider both Andrejeva and Iljaš to be political prisoners.

In recent years, the Belarusian government has equated independent journalism with extremism, prosecuting individuals for giving interviews to non-state media outlets.

According to the Belarusian Association of Journalists, at least 36 Belarusian journalists are currently behind bars.

Also read: Judge orders analysis of journalist Iljaš’s articles, adjourns trial