Sports journalist Ivulin released, leaves Belarus

February 23, BPN. Authorities released soccer player and sports journalist Alaksandr Ivulin after he had served a two-year prison term.

Ivulin left Belarus upon his release. He has posted a picture from a Moscow airport, probably en route to a southern country.

“I can say that the operation had been prepared for a long time and by many people,” said BySol founder Andrej Stryžak. “Coordinated efforts of all volunteers made this evacuation possible. I am not authorized to say when he [Ivulin] was released. He will tell you everything he can himself.”

Pro-government sources said authorities did not restrict his movement after release.

Ivulin has been in custody since June 2021. First, authorities jailed him for allegedly displaying a white-red-white flag in his apartment’s window. Later, he was charged with participating in protests over pictures from 2020 protest rallies.

Authorities also said Ivulin’s ChestnOK YouTube channel allegedly contained videos with negative assessments of the Belarusian government that discredited the political and social situation in the country.

In January 2022, Ivulin was given a two-year prison term. He served it at Penal Colony No 22 in the Ivacevičy district, Brest region.