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October 17, 2024 – Belarus –
Freelance journalist Danil Palianski, a 53-year-old reporter from Brest, disappeared shortly after returning from Russia. His detention was confirmed by the Belarusian Association of Journalists, marking the start of a harsh judicial assault. Palianski now stands accused of “high treason” — a charge punishable by up to 20 years in prison — as part of a sweeping crackdown on independent media.
He is one of at least 34 journalists currently detained in Belarus, a country now regarded as the most dangerous in Europe for press freedom. Andrei Bastunets, head of the Belarusian Association of Journalists (BAJ), said Palianski’s disappearance is emblematic of a broader assault on dissent ahead of the 2025 presidential election: “journalists disappear behind bars and we don’t know what’s happening to them”.
Palianski worked with multiple independent outlets, and his arrest appears timed to silence critical coverage by regional journalists. The treason charge followed his return from Russia, where he may have faced pressure from authorities before being detained by the KGB upon entering Brest.
His case exists within a deeply repressive information environment in Belarus. Since controversial elections in 2020 and 2024, state control over media has tightened dramatically: independent outlets have been shuttered, accreditation revoked, reporting criminalized under “extremism” and “insulting the president” laws, and dozens of journalists imprisoned or exiled. Viasna reports that over 1,300 people, including at least 38 journalists, remain imprisoned for political reasons.
International press freedom bodies—including RSF, CPJ, IPI, and BAJ—have strongly condemned Palianski’s arrest. Their unified demand: end politically motivated prosecutions, immediately release detained journalists, and restore independent media in the lead-up to the 2025 election.
Until the Lukashenko regime abandons its entrenched campaign of repression and repeals draconian media laws, journalists like Danil Palianski will remain high-risk targets. His fate underscores how Belarus continues to weaponize its legal system to silence dissidents and throttle free expression.
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