Former head of Łukašenka’s press pool faces criminal charges

October 31, BPN. Authorities accused Dźmitryj Siemčanka, a former head of Alaksandr Łukašenka’s press pool at the state-run ONT TV channel, of inciting hatred in Telegram channels and chats in 2020-2022 and took him into custody, the Prosecutor General’s Office said.

In mid-September, a court in Minsk sentenced the journalist to 15 days in jail on charges of disorderly conduct and fined his wife Julija 960 rubels (about $390) for reposting content from the opposition Telegram channels. In early October, a court sentenced Siemčanka to 13 days in jail.

He also served a jail term in September 2020 for alleged participation in anti-government protests. He was one of dozens of journalists who resigned from state-controlled media in 2020 in protest against police violence after the August 2020 presidential election.

He then pursued a career in public relations at Biełahra, an agricultural equipment distribution company. On September 29, police raided its Minsk office and arrested 20 employees.

Currently, 31 media workers are behind bars in Belarus, the Belarusian Association of Journalists (BAJ) said.