BelaPAN’s chief editor spends birthday in prison

November 29, BPN. BelaPAN editor in chief Iryna Leŭšyna is celebrating her birthday behind bars at the Homiel detention center on November 29.

“The most difficult thing for me here is to be far from Minsk,” Leŭšyna wrote in a letter about her time in Homiel. “At my previous place [of detention in Minsk] I was comforted by the idea that my home was very close. . . It turned out that geography matters, even if you are isolated.”

Leŭšyna also said that she is in good health, noting that the detention facility has a larger yard for physical activities.

On October 6, a court in Minsk convicted Leŭšyna of forming and running an extremist group and sentenced her to four years in prison.

Her associates Dźmitryj Navažyłaŭ and Andrej Alaksandraŭ and Alaksandraŭ’s wife Iryna Złobina were also given lengthy prison terms. Authorities accused them of participating in protests, tax evasion and association with an extremist group. They are waiting for appeal hearings.

The charges are widely seen as politically motivated.