Tut.by raided, shut down a year ago

May 18, BPN. It has been a year to the day since the Belarusian authorities raided and shut down tut.by, Belarus’ largest and most popular independent media outlet.

In the morning of May 18, 2021, following the one-year anniversary of tut.by founder Juryj Zisser’s death, law enforcement officers raided apartments of company employees and tut.by offices in Minsk and regional centers, arresting 15 journalists.

Authorities charged the journalists with large-scale tax evasion. Tut.by management was accused of allegedly generating revenue from activities not permitted for Hi-Tech Park residents.

Later, Ala Lapatka, chief engineer at tut.by, was charged with facilitating large-scale tax evasion, while editor-in-chief Maryna Zolatava and journalist Alena Taŭkačova were charged with complicity in large-scale tax evasion.

On September 1, Siarhiej Pavališaŭ, director general of Hoster.by provider, a project of the deceased tut.by founder Juryj Zisser, was released on his own recognizance. On January 13, Julija Čarniaŭskaja, Zisser’s widow, was freed from house arrest. Both remain under investigation.

On 17 March, three more former tut.by employees were released on their own recognizance, namely Volha Lojka, editor-in-chief for political and economic news; Aliaksandr Dajneka, assistant general director for technical issues; and Andrej Aŭdzejeŭ, Publisher Box manager. 

Maryja Novik, a former deputy chief accountant at Tut.by Media, Iryna Rybalka, assistant director general for corporate affairs, and Anžela Asad, chief accountant, were released on March 11, and Ala Lapatka, on May 13.

On April 25, the Maskoŭski District Court of Minsk sentenced Darja Danilava, project manager of TAM.by (affiliated with Tut.by Media), to one year and four months in prison for grossly violating public order. Danilava was released in the courtroom, as the time she had spent in detention was taken into account. She moved to Georgia with her family.

Former TUT.BY CEO Liudmila Čekina, former editor-in-chief Maryna Zolatava, and journalist Alena Taŭkačova are held in custody.

Members of the tut.by team, who were not arrested in the May 2021 raids, left the country to found zerkalo.io, a media organization covering developments in Belarus. The Belarusian authorities declared zerkalo.io extremist content.