IPI and its global network strongly condemn the four-year prison sentence handed today to Regionalnaya Gazeta newspaper director Alexander Mantsevich, who was accused of “discrediting Belarus”.
Mantsevich was arrested in March this year, two months after authorities designated Regionalnaya Gazeta’s website and Telegram publications as “extremist” content. Following his arrest, the independent outlet’s Instagram account was also designated as such.
In its verdict, the Maladzyechna district court relied on a prior assessment by Belarusian prosecutors, who claimed that Mantsevich had “consciously disseminated false information discrediting Belarus and its authorities, in the printed press and on online platforms”.
“The sentencing of Alexander Mantsevich is the latest reminder of the Lukashenko regime’s determination to systematically eliminate all independent reporting in Belarus,” said IPI Deputy Director Scott Griffen. “After the 2020 elections, authorities first forcefully closed all of the country’s national independent media. This year, they have moved to eradicate journalism at the local level.”
He added: “This destruction comes at an enormous human cost, with dozens of media workers behind bars in Belarus, and most independent journalists forced into exile. We continue to demand an end to the repression and call on international actors to continue their support for independent Belarusian media and civil society.”
According to media reports, Regionalnaya Gazeta was the first independent news outlet created in north-western Belarus. Based in the town of Maladzyechna, Regionalnaya Gazeta reporters covered local protests which followed the fraudulent election of Alexander Lukashenko in 2020, with many of them detained at the time for their work. One year after the election, authorities forced Regionalnaya Gazeta to suspend print publications. The outlet continued its reporting work online.
As of November 2023, 33 Belarusian media workers are held in prison for their work, according to monitoring by the Belarusian Association of Journalists.