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Exiled journalist says Belarus filed new criminal charges against her
November 4, Pozirk. Exiled journalist Kaciaryna Andrejeva (Bachvałava), freed in March as part of Washington’s deal with Minsk, says Belarusian authorities filed new criminal charges against her.
Her parents in Belarus were reportedly summoned to appear before the Investigative Committee on November 5.
Andrejeva was arrested in November 2020 while covering the violent dispersal of a protest rally in downtown Minsk for Belsat TV. She was imprisoned on protest-related charges with the two-year term later extended to eight years in a high treason case. After the liberation, Andrejeva resumed cooperation with the Warsaw-based Belsat TV channel, branded as extremist by the authorities in Minsk.
Her husband, journalist Ihar Iljaš was arrested in late October 2024 for giving interviews to media outlets that the authorities have labeled as extremist. Last year, he was given four years in prison in Belarus for allegedly discrediting the state and facilitating extremism. Rights groups consider his persecution to be politically motivated.
Nearly all independent media outlets were branded extremist for political reasons in Belarus after the disputed 2020 presidential election. Belarusian authorities routinely use terrorism and extremism designations to silence critical voices. Association with an extremist group carries a penalty of two to seven years in prison.
RSF on journalist releases in Belarus: one-off pardons cannot replace justice
March 21, Pozirk. Reporters Without Borders (RSF) welcomed the release of several Belarusian journalists among a large group of dissidents freed two days ago, but stressed that they should never have been imprisoned. “We call for the immediate release of …
