Somalia Must End Impunity for Crimes Against Journalists
September 23, 2024
The Future Is Fragile Without a Free Press
September 23, 2024
September 23, 2024 – Belarus –
Belarusian authorities have detained and sentenced journalist Yauhen Nikalayevich in what press freedom advocates are calling a clear act of retaliation against independent journalism. The 2024 arrest and subsequent sentencing mark yet another alarming chapter in Belarus’s ongoing suppression of critical voices under President Alexander Lukashenko’s regime.
Nikalayevich, a former video reporter for Media Polesye, was initially targeted in 2020 after covering mass protests in Pinsk demanding Lukashenko’s resignation. He was arrested, reportedly beaten, and served 10 days in administrative detention before fleeing the country and ceasing his journalistic work. His return to Belarus in early 2024 resulted in immediate re-arrest, this time under Article 342(1) of the criminal code, which criminalizes “organizing or participating in gross violations of public order.” The charge, often used to silence dissent, carries a potential prison sentence of up to four years.
Ahead of his trial on September 26, 2024, the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) called on Belarusian authorities to either present credible evidence or release Nikalayevich immediately. CPJ’s Europe and Central Asia Program Coordinator, Gulnoza Said, described Belarus as Europe’s worst jailer of journalists, underscoring the regime’s escalating use of judicial harassment to crush press freedom.
On October 3, a Pinsk court convicted Nikalayevich and sentenced him to 1.5 years in prison. The ruling was upheld by an appellate court and only made public on December 19. In a further escalation, the Belarusian Ministry of Interior added his name to a registry of individuals accused of “extremist activity” on December 6, amplifying the legal and social stigma surrounding his case.
CPJ condemned the conviction as a politically motivated act designed to intimidate current and former journalists. They demanded the immediate release of Nikalayevich and all others imprisoned for their journalistic work. The case serves as yet another reminder of the peril faced by journalists in Belarus, where the government continues to equate independent reporting with criminality, and where the cost of truth-telling can be counted in years behind bars.
Reference –
