
#AceNewsReport – Feb.20: A court in Belarus has sentenced two journalists to two years in prison for live-streaming one of the pro-democracy protests that rocked the country last year as authorities continue a crackdown aimed at smashing the protest movement against authoritarian leader Alexander Lukashenko:
âBelarus jails 2 journalists Katsiaryna Andreyeva and Darya Chultsova had live-streamed a protestâ
Katsiaryna Andreyeva, 27, and Darya Chultsova, 23, were detained in an apartment in Belarusâ capital of Minsk in November from where they were filming a protest over the death of a protester killed several days earlier:
ABC News – 18 February 2021, 14:16 – 7 min read

Belarusâ ongoing protests: Examined
Why protesters have not been able to push President Alexander Lukashenko from power.AFP via Getty Images
Prosecutors charged the journalists who work for the independent channel Belsat with organizing the protest by streaming it.
Both journalists pleaded not guilty and said they had simply been doing their job by filming the event but the court on Wednesday convicted them and sentenced them to two years in a prison camp.
After the sentencing, the women smiled and hugged each other, flashing V-for-victory signs with their hands, Reuters reported.
Their case has attracted international attention amid the ongoing repression in Belarus where Lukashenkoâs government, having weathered the massive protests last autumn demanding he leave office, is now seeking to smother the opposition to him.
There are more than 250 political prisoners in Belarus currently according to human rights monitors and police this week launched new raids targeting the homes of journalists, activists and trade union groups, including the home of the head of the Belarusian Association of Journalists.
After Wednesdayâs verdict Svetlana Tikhanovskaya, the exiled leader of Belarusâ opposition, on Wednesday tweeted: “Just look at Darya and Katsyaryna — strong, smiling, and saying goodbye to their loved ones from behind bars. Lukashenka can’t break us.”
The international press freedom group, Reporters Without Borders, condemned the journalists’ imprisonment, writing on Twitter that the two women had been jailed for “doing their job” and demanding their immediate release.
Polandâs representative to the European Union called for Belarus to end its persecution of journalists. Lithuania, where Tikhanovskaya is now based, said Andreyeva and Chultsovaâs jailing was âunacceptableâ, urging Belarusâ government to stop a âcycle of repressionâ and to release all unjustly detained prisoners.
Jeanne Cavelier, head of Reporters Without Borders’ Eastern Europe and Central Asia desk, in January said Andreyeva and Chultsova’s case was part of stepped up repression specifically targeting journalists.
âThe Belarusian authorities are pursuing a new tactic in which they permanently lock up journalists to prevent them from covering the protests, which have continued for more than five months despite the crackdown,â Cavelier said in a statement in January.
“The ridiculously thin veneer of legality surrounding these criminal proceedings fails to conceal the reality, which is that Alexander Lukashenko is waging a terrible war against the media and free speech,” she said.
There are currently at least 15 serious cases of journalists arbitrarily detained in Belarus, according to Reporters Without Borders.
Belarusâ authorities have repeatedly targeted journalists during the protests that began last August following a disputed presidential election and that saw hundreds of thousands of people demonstrate for an end to Lukashenkoâs 26-year rule.
Authorities shut down the internet for days at a time and during the protests police frequently detained and attacked journalists clearly identified as press, hitting some with batons and firing rubber bullets at them. Authorities barred most foreign media from entering the country.
âEvery time, going out to work, I risked my health and life. I managed to escape from the barrages of rubber bullets, explosions from stun grenades, the blows of batons. My colleagues were far less lucky,â Andreyeva said in a statement on Tuesday.
âI have everything: youth, a beloved profession, fame, and most of all a clean conscience. I want to dedicate my strengths to the creation, to the construction of a Belarus where there wonât be political repression,â she said, adding she demanded acquittal for herself and hundreds of other political prisoners.
Lukashenkoâs hold on power appeared to wobble in the first weeks of the protests last summer but he has since regained control, wearing down the protest movement with steady repression.
Police have detained more than 35,000 people during the protests since August and often used brutal violence to disperse the crowds.
Virtually all opposition leaders have been arrested or forced into exile and those taking part in the protests have been threatened with being fired from their jobs or expelled from universities.
Hanna Liubakova, a prominent journalist in Minsk and non-resident fellow at the Atlantic Council tweeted condemning Chultsova and Andreyevaâs jailing and urged Western countries to react.
âIf no response from the West follows, there will be more,â Liubakova wrote.
The U.S. embassy in Minsk this month called for Chultsova and Andreyevaâs release. âThese two journalists were covering developing news for the Belarusian people. The United States urges the Belarusian authorities to release them immediately and without conditions and, more broadly, to end the prosecution of journalists doing their jobs,â the embassy wrote in a statement.
The United States has previously condemned the crackdown and imposed sanctions on Belarusian officials accused of rigging Augustâs election and the violence against protesters.
#AceNewsDesk report ………Published: Feb.20: 2021:
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2 replies on “(BELARUS) Court Report: Two journalists sentenced to 2yrs-in-prison for live-streaming pro-democracy protests last year”
freedom to speak, in these times, there is no point in trying to impress anyone, but the Living Heart of God, we do this, by simple kindness, having caring hearts, and leaving Judgement to God, the times are changing. thanks for reminding us all of the plight of Journalists, who daily risk their lives, for truth’s sake, amen
Of course Journalists pay the price of the ” Truth ” Look at all those fines againest those Social Media Sites plus Google for on selling customers private information. That has been proven in the Courts world wide. We do not advocate using these sites. Even bloggers are not welcome either. We have all banned Social media sites around the office. Many thousands of private Facebook users have deleted their profiles. We are in control not Mark. Stop using Facebook. Download apps for news instead, cut out the middle man!
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