Former journalist Sabaleŭski faces criminal charges

January 15, Pozirk. Investigators press extremism charges against journalist Aleś Sabaleŭski, said the human rights group Mayday.Team. He has been held at Mahiloŭ’s Prison No. 4.

Sabaleŭski was arrested on December 12 and given two consecutive jail sentences for alleged minor offenses. Instead of releasing him when the sentences expired, investigators charged him with violating Article 361-4 of the Criminal Code, which bans facilitating extremist activities.

According to the Belarusian Association of Journalists, Sabaleŭski quit journalism long ago.

A year ago, OMON (Special Police Unit) raided his apartment. Reports said that one officer pointed a handgun at him.

Security forces then searched the homes of two other loсal journalists in a crackdown on the 6TV newsroom that employed Sabaleŭski.

On November 29, the Committee for State Security blacklisted 6TV, a regional station, as an extremist group.

Authorities can retroactively prosecute journalists for cooperating with media designated as extremist after they had left.

On January 12, journalist and cameraman Alaksandar Ziankoŭ went on trial at the Minsk City Court to answer extremism charges. Investigators accused him of association with an extremist group, a charge that carries up to six years in prison.

Based in Barysaŭ, Minsk region, Ziankoŭ cooperated with several independent media outlets, including ex-Press.by (now ex-press.live), blacklisted as extremist content twice, while its team was branded an extremist group in November.

After the 2020 presidential election, the government has been running a campaign to dismantle and ban independent media. It has forced dozens of national and local news organizations into exile. According to the Belarusian Association of Journalists, 34 media professionals remain behind bars.