Hrodna court sentences journalist, lawyer to prison on extremism charges

July 26, BPN. The Hrodna Regional Court has sentenced journalist Pavieł Mažejka and lawyer Julija Jurhilevič to six years in prison each, the Viasna Human Rights Center reports.

They were charged with extremism for political reasons, human rights activists said.

Both denied any wrongdoing, according to previous reports. Jurhilevič told the court that she was being held in unsanitary conditions and was not allowed to study the case file.

Investigators accused Mažejka of posting reports on Jurhilevič’s decision to resign and on a five-year prison sentence given to dissident artist Aleś Puškin on the Belsat TV website. Belarusian authorities designated it as an extremist group.

Mažejka led a non-governmental organization called the Center of Urban Life, which was shut down by the prosecutors last year, Jurhilevič defended regime critics facing prosecution.

They were arrested in 2022. Judge Maksim Fiłataŭ opened the trial on July 10.