New York, December 19, 2024—A Belarusian court convicted journalist Yauhen Nikalayevich of “organizing or participating in gross violations of public order” and sentenced him to 1½ years imprisonment on October 3 in the southwestern city of Pinsk. The sentence length was only made public on December 19 after a court upheld his conviction earlier this month.
“The sentencing of journalist Yauhen Nikalayevich is yet another example of the Belarusian authorities’ vindictiveness against those who covered the 2020 protests demanding President Aleksandr Lukashenko’s resignation,” said Gulnoza Said, CPJ’s Europe and Central Asia program coordinator. “Authorities should immediately release Nikalayevich, along with all imprisoned journalists, and stop persecuting the media for doing its job and reporting the news.”
The charges against Nikalayevich, a former video reporter with independent news website Media Polesye, are “most likely” related to his coverage of protests in 2020 calling for President Aleksandr Lukashenko to resign, a representative of the Belarusian Association of Journalists (BAJ), an advocacy and trade group operating from exile, told CPJ on the condition of anonymity, citing fear of reprisal.
On December 6, the Ministry of Interior added Nikalayevich to its list of people allegedly involved in extremist activity.
CPJ’s email to the Belarusian Investigative Committee, the country’s law enforcement agency responsible for investigating crimes, requesting comment on Nikalayevich’s sentence did not receive a reply.
Nikalayevich served a 10-day prison sentence in November 2020 on charges of “participating in an unsanctioned event” following his coverage of protests in Pinsk. He was one of dozens of journalists detained for documenting widespread demonstrations in 2020 calling on the president to resign.
After serving his sentence, Nikalayevich left Belarus and stopped practicing journalism. When he returned to the country in early 2024, authorities detained him.
