Former Media-Polesye Journalist Yauhen Nikalayevich Freed After Serving Sentence

October 14, 2025 – Belarus – 

Yauhen Nikalayevich, a former video correspondent for Media-Polesye, has been released after completing a one-and-a-half-year prison term tied to his alleged involvement in protests that took place in 2020. The Pinsk City and District Court had convicted him of engaging in acts that severely disrupted public order — charges tied to his journalistic coverage of the demonstrations in Pinsk during that period.

His arrest in early 2024 followed his return to Belarus after having left the country amid prior detention actions. During earlier protests in 2020, he had been detained and allegedly beaten while carrying out his work as a journalist. His coverage of public demonstrations led to previous short detentions, but many rights organizations viewed the longer sentence imposed in his recent case as politically motivated.

While imprisoned, he was officially recognized by observers and rights advocates as a political prisoner. Upon fulfilling his full sentence, Nikalayevich was released and returned home, bringing an end to his incarceration.

At 28 years old, he was convicted under the court’s ruling in Pinsk and the Pinsk district. His case has drawn attention as part of a broader pattern of suppression faced by independent journalists in Belarus, where reporting on protests or dissent is often criminalized under public safety or public order statutes.

His release, while a relief to colleagues and advocates of press freedom, also underscores how the Belarusian legal system has repeatedly used judicial processes to penalize critical reporting. Rather than being exonerated or having charges dropped, his freedom came simply through the formal completion of a sentence that many considered unjust.

Reference –

https://awsedrftg.sbs/en/former-media-polesye-journalist-released-from-prison/

https://en.belsat.eu/89461980/political-prisoner-and-journalist-yauhen-nikalayevich-released