UN special rapporteur urged to stand up for jailed Belarusian journalist

September 13, BPN. The Belarusian Association of Journalists (BAJ) has called on the UN’s special rapporteur for freedom of opinion, Irene Khan, to stand up for journalist Dzianis Ivašyn.

“The Belarusian Association of Journalists calls on you to urgently react to this message and appeal to the government of Belarus to immediately stop the political persecution of journalist Dzianis Ivašyn,” it wrote.

Ivašyn’s prosecution under criminal articles against meddling in police work and treason is “a gross violation of his freedom of speech,” it noted.

BAJ said the jailed journalist had been punished with solitary confinement multiple times.

Ivašyn was a volunteer editor at Ukrainiane’s InfromNapalm. He also cooperated with Belarus’ independent weekly Novy Čas. He investigated Russian meddling in Belarus, construction at a Soviet-era massacre site, and the controversial recruitment of former Ukrainian riot police officers by Belarus.

He was arrested on March 12, 2021. Later that month, the Committee for the State Security (KGB) claimed that he worked for Ukraine’s special services and caused damage to Belarus’ national security.

The journalist went on trial at the Hrodna Regional Court on August 15, behind closed doors. The court is expected to deliver its verdict on September 14.

A total of 27 media workers remain behind bars in Belarus, according to BAJ.