Local journalist sentenced to prison for extremism

May 30, BPN. The Homiel Regional Court has sentenced Jaŭhien Mierkis, a prominent local journalist, to four years in prison for extremism, the Belarusian Association of Journalists reports. It has also ruled that his photo and video equipment and data carriers be confiscated.

Mierkis had cooperated with independent media such as the Belsat TV channel, which was banned as an “extremist group” after the 2020 protests against Alaksandr Łukašenka.

Later he stopped working as a journalist and focused on local history projects.

He was arrested in September 2022 after his apartment and his father’s house were searched by authorities.

He had previously spent 27 days in detention for participating in unauthorized events.

Human rights activists consider him a political prisoner.