Belarus Sentences Journalist To 5 Years Jail, Prompting Outcry

By Stefan J. Bos, Chief International Correspondent Worthy News

NEW YORK/MINSK/BUDAPEST (Worthy News) – An advocacy group has condemned the five-year jail term given to Belarusian journalist Alena Tsimashchuk on what her supporters suggest are trumped-up charges.

The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) told Worthy News it was concerned about reports that a court in Belarus convicted her of “discrediting” the nation, “incitement to racial, national, religious, or other social hostility or discord,” and participating in an extremist formation.

“Belarusian authorities must immediately disclose the reasons behind charges against journalist Alena Tsimashchuk, who was sentenced to five years imprisonment,” the CPJ said.

The June 3 ruling by the southwestern city of Brest also fined her 46,000 Belarusian rubles (US$14,000), about 20 times the average monthly salary, Worthy News learned.

“In just four days and two hearings, a Belarusian court sentenced journalist Alena Tsimashchuk to five years’ imprisonment on unknown grounds,” said Gulnoza Said, CPJ’s Europe and Central Asia program coordinator. “Authorities should immediately disclose the reasons behind the charges brought against Tsimashchuk and ensure that no journalists are jailed for their work.”

The young woman is a freelance journalist “who has worked with several local outlets in the Brest region,” said the Belarusian Association of Journalists (BAJ), an advocacy and trade group operating from exile.

BAJ sources said Tsimashchuk’s detention likely occurred in late 2023.

DOZENS DETAINED

She is the latest among dozens of journalists and media workers being detained in autocratically-ruled Belarus, a close ally of Russia.

“Belarus was the world’s third worst jailer of journalists, with at least 28 journalists behind bars on December 1, 2023, when CPJ conducted its most recent prison census,” CPJ. Since then, the known number of jailed journalists in Belarus has risen to about 38, Worthy News learned.

They are among more than 1,400 political prisoners in a nation ruled by Alexander Lukashenko, often referred to by the West as “Europe’s last dictator.”

He was repeatedly re-elected as leader in contests that opposition candidates and foreign observers have labeled unfair and undemocratic.

Belarusian opposition leader-in-exile Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya was widely believed to have won the last elections. Tsikhanouskaya’s husband is serving a 19½-year prison term on charges that his supporters are related to his political views.

Lukashenko has been in power since 1994 and intends to seek another five-year term in 2025’s presidential election.

The European Union, Britain, Canada, and the United States have all imposed sanctions against Belarus due to “political oppression.” Further sanctions were imposed in 2022 following the country’s role in the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

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