Journalist Hłuškoŭ charged with extremism – rights group

February 12, Pozirk. Authorities have opened a criminal case against Jaŭhien Hłuškoŭ, a former journalist and cameraman from Mahiloŭ, the Mayday.Team rights group said on Telegram.

According to preliminary reports, he is charged with breaking Article 361-1 of the Criminal Code, which bans setting up and participating in extremist groups.

Law enforcers reportedly “stormed” his home in January as he refused to open the door. “They dragged him out into the street in the clothes he was wearing at home,” the group noted.

Hłuškoŭ was taken into custody after authorities arrested him on January 4 or 5, media reported last month.

He lived alone and recently stopped contacting his wife and son. His neighbors saw security officers escorting him out of the apartment.

An investigator told his wife that the man was under investigation.

Hłuškoŭ worked at a local television station in the 1990s-2000s and later cooperated with several city websites.

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.