Six people convicted of taking part in a political rally protesting the reelection of President Alexander Lukashenko were sentenced today. Vladimir Loban, Evgueniy Sekret and Serguey Kazakov were sentenced to three years in a labour camp and Andrey Fedarkevich, Dmitry Doronin and Vitaly Matsukevich were sentenced to three and a half years.
As politicians and journalists face trial for mass street protests, Olga Birukova explains the climate of fear and intimidation journalists face
On Wednesday (27 April) authorities in Belarus closed two independent newspapers, Nasha Niva and Narodnaya Volya. The Information Ministry said it acted after repeatedly warning both newspapers over their political coverage in the last year. In a separate incident yesterday (27 April), opposition leader Dimitry Bondarenko was found guilty of organising a rally in December to protest the election results which extended President Alexander Lukashenko’s term in office. The court has sentenced him to two years in prison.
A journalist received a written warning over an article in which he questioned the Belarussian authorities’ claims to have arrested those responsible for April’s Minsk metro bombing. A prosecutor in Belarus’s eastern district issued a letter which also warns Nyarouny not to publish similar articles in the future.