April 9, Pozirk. A judge in Stolin, Brest region, at a trial held behind closed doors sentenced Alaksandar Ihnaciuk, a former journalist from Pinsk, to six years in a medium security prison, the Viasna Human Rights Center reported.
He has been held in pre-trial detention since July 18, 2023.
The prosecutor charged that he called for riots in his social media posts dating August 2020.
Ihnaciuk was found guilty of gross violations of public order, a charge often used to persecute regime critics in Belarus; defamation of Alaksandar Łukašenka and extortion.
The journalist pleaded not guilty of extortion and partially guilty to the first two charges.
Until 2003, Ihnaciuk published the independent regional newspaper Vecherniy Stolin. Later, he edited the Pro Stolin website.
