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Year passes since arrest of two Belsat journalists

On Monday, November 15, a year has passed since the arrest of two Belsat journalists – Katsiaryna Andreyeva and Darya Chultsova, who were detained by the Belarusian services while reporting on a protest organised in Minsk. “It is inconceivable in modern Europe that journalists doing their work should be exposed to persecution, to imprisonment for actually practising their profession,” Mateusz Matyszkowicz, a board member of the Polish public broadcaster TVP, of which the Belsat is a subsidiary of, commented on the matter.

While carrying out their work investigating the suspicious death of Raman Bondarenka – a Belarusian painter who died after an altercation with unidentified men who proceeded to take down red-white-red flags (symbols of protests against the Belarusian regime), which adorned a square by the man’s house, the journalists were detained by the services and charged with leading the riots. It was the first detention of journalists in Belarus with such grave consequences.

Three months after their arrest, they were tried and sentenced to two years in a prison colony, receiving the maximum sentence requested by the prosecutor.

“At first, both of these journalists were detained on administrative charges of participating in an illegal demonstration – that is threatened with arrest or a fine. And we waited for them to come out [of imprisonment]. It turned out that they would not, there were criminal charges of organising riots made against them,” Agnieszka Romaszewskia-Guza, the director of the Belsat, said.

“It is inconceivable in modern Europe that journalists doing their work should be exposed to persecution, to imprisonment for actually practising their profession,” Mateusz Matyszkowicz, a board member of the Polish public broadcaster TVP, of which Belarusian broadcaster Belsat is subsidiary of, commented on the matter.

The Belsat authorities and many human rights organisations demanded the immediate release of the journalists and unanimously condemned the actions of the Belarusian regime.

“We immediately appealed to the European Broadcasting Union, which reacted on the same day with its official position. We are in touch with other broadcasters. The most effective weapon today is information. It is a constant reminder about the fate of both imprisoned journalists,” Mr Matyszkowisz emphasised.

The work of Ms Andreyeva and Ms Chultsova has been recognised internationally – they won the PRIX EUROPA title of European Journalist of the Year 2021.

“It is important to stand firmly behind the principles of democracy, human rights and the freedom of the press. And to support those who are fighting for these principles,” Can Dündar, Turkish journalist and the winner of the award in 2017, said during the ceremony.

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