Former head of Łukašenka’s press pool arrested

September 15, BPN. A former head of Alaksandr Łukašenka’s press pool, Dźmitryj Siemčanka, has been arrested, his wife says.

Julija Siemčanka says she was briefly detained and her mobile phone was seized. On September 16, she would go on trial for “a repost.” It is unknown what the husband is suspected or accused of.

Dźmitryj Siemčanka was already arrested for 15 days back in September 2020. After the presidential election, he resigned from state-run television channel ONT, where he had worked for 11 years, in protest against police violence towards protesters.

The Łukašenka regime holds about 30 media workers behind bars, according to the Belarusian Association of Journalists.