September 16, Pozirk. The Minsk City Court has sentenced journalist Ihar Iljaš to four years in prison, as requested by prosecutors, Radyjo Svaboda reports.
He may be sent to a maximum security prison, Siarhiej Vahanaŭ, grandfather of his jailed wife and journalist Kaciaryna Andrejeva (Bachvałava), said on Facebook.
Iljaš had pleaded not guilty to charges of discrediting Belarus and facilitating extremism, and today dismissed the accusations in his final statement. His lawyer plans to file an appeal with the Supreme Court within 10 days.
Earlier, Vahanaŭ said that Belarusian experts were unable to prove that Iljaš had spread any false information. He also accused Siarhiej Lebiadzinski, head of the department at Belarusian State University who made a psycholinguistic analysis of the journalist’s articles, of bias.
New York Times and Guardian journalists, temporarily accredited in Belarus, were present at today’s hearing, Vahanaŭ said.
Iljaš was arrested in late October 2024 for giving interviews to media outlets that the authorities have labeled as extremist. Human rights organizations recognized both Andrejeva and Iljaš as political prisoners.
In recent years, the Belarusian government has increasingly equated independent journalism with extremism, prosecuting individuals for granting interviews to non-state media.
