{"id":202473,"date":"2026-09-04T17:25:30","date_gmt":"2026-09-04T14:25:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/news\/202473\/"},"modified":"2026-09-04T17:25:32","modified_gmt":"2026-09-04T14:25:32","slug":"imprisoned-andrej-alaksandarau-wins-prestigious-free-media-award","status":"publish","type":"articles","link":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/news\/202473\/","title":{"rendered":"Imprisoned Andrej Alaksandara\u016d wins prestigious Free Media Award"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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September 4, Pozirk<\/em><\/strong>.<\/em> Imprisoned media manager Andrej Alaksandra\u016d, who served as deputy director general of the private news agency BelaPAN<\/em> between 2015 and 2018, has been granted this year\u2019s Free Media Award, which honors independent, pro-democracy journalism in Eastern Europe.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Andrej Alaksandra\u016d \u201chas been chosen to receive a Free Media Award for his courage and commitment to freedom of the press and freedom of expression under an increasingly repressive regime,\u201d the organizers say. \u201cThrough his work at the independent Belarusian news agency BelaPAN<\/em> and the Belarusian Association of Journalists (BAJ), he has helped strengthen professional standards of journalism, support independent media and build international networks of journalists and human rights defenders.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Norway\u2019s Fritt Ord Foundation and Germany\u2019s Zeit Stiftung Bucerius named Alaksandra\u016d as a winner of Free Media Awards along with Ukrainian investigative journalist Mykhailo Tkack, the Georgian investigative media outlet iFact, the Armenian online media outlet Factor TV and the exiled Russian online media outlet Verstka.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The awards ceremony will take place in Oslo, Norway, on September 29.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The prestigious Free Media Awards, which comes with a money prize of \u20ac15,000, was bestowed upon Belarus\u2019 web portal tut.by<\/em>, the BAJ and four Belarusian female journalists in 2021 amid a crackdown on non-state media in Belarus.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Andrej Alaksandra\u016d and his girlfriend Iryna Z\u0142obina were arrested on January 12, 2021.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In October 2022, judge Via\u010das\u0142a\u016d Tulejka of the Minsk Regional Court sentenced Alaksandra\u016d to 14 years in prison and Z\u0142obina to nine years, on charges widely seen as politically motivated, including high treason, tax evasion and organizing actions grossly disturbing public order. Rights groups consider both political prisoners. They married in custody in September 2022.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Alaksandra\u016d is serving his term in Penal Colony No. 1 in Navapo\u0142ack, Viciebsk region, employed in the prison\u2019s woodworking shop.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The now-defunct BelaPAN<\/em> was branded an \u201cextremist group\u201d in Belarus in early November 2021.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Following the 2020 peaceful protests against election fraud, Belarusian authorities have equated criticism, solidarity, advocacy, the free media and free expression with extremism and terrorism.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

September 4, Pozirk. Imprisoned media manager Andrej Alaksandra\u016d, who served as deputy director general of the private news agency BelaPAN between 2015 and 2018, has been granted this year\u2019s Free Media Award, which honors independent, pro-democracy journalism in Eastern Europe. Andrej Alaksandra\u016d \u201chas been chosen to receive a Free Media Award for his courage and […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":83,"featured_media":202448,"template":"","rubric":[29,15],"class_list":["post-202473","articles","type-articles","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","rubric-germanynews","rubric-society"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nImprisoned Andrej Alaksandara\u016d wins prestigious Free Media Award | Pozirk<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"September 4, Pozirk. 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