December 7, Pozirk. Jahor Marcinovič, a former Naša Niva chief editor, has received a Hope of Freedom award at the Lithuanian parliament.
“I’ve been luckier than many of my colleagues because I am here and they are still there in the same conditions or even worse,” he said after accepting the award.
“I was paid €6 a month [in prison]. I think dozens of imprisoned Belarusian journalists get paid even less. But they remain hostages; they are there because they were ready to go all the way for freedom of speech. It is absurd that their intellectual potential has been used for such slave labor, not for enhancing Belarus’ information security.”
The award was established by Lithuanian MP Kazys Starkevičius and the journalistic community.
Marcinovič left Belarus on his release from prison in August. He spent more than two years behind bars in what is widely seen as authorities’ retaliation for his work as journalist. The award ceremony was held as part of a forum of journalism associations of Baltic countries and persecuted journalists held at the Seimas on December 7.
