Journalist and tour guide Ihar Chmara sentenced to home confinement

November 11, BPN. A district court in Minsk has sentenced journalist and tour guide Ihar Chmara to two-and-a-half years of restricted freedom without referral to an open-type correctional facility for protests, the Viasna Human Rights Center reports.

People who receive this punishment are confined to their residence during non-working hours and are required to retain or seek employment. Law enforcement officers can visit their home or place of employment anytime to make sure they comply with the terms of confinement.

Police arrested Chmara on August 2, when he was giving a tour of Minsk. Social media users speculated that he was persecuted for speaking Belarusian.

Chmara cooperated with Realt.by, and had been detained as part of the 2018 case against Tut.by editor in chief Maryna Zołatava and other independent reporters, known as the BelTA case.