The IPI global network welcomes the release of nine imprisoned journalists in Belarus, following a decision by the country’s leader Alexander Lukashenko which was part of a deal brokered with the Trump administration. We call upon authorities led by Lukashenko to free 27 other media workers who remain behind bars on politically motivated charges.
On September 11, Belarusian authorities released 52 political prisoners who had been jailed over the past years. While the group, comprising mainly activists, journalists and opposition politicians, were allowed to leave prison, security forces immediately escorted them to Belarus’s border with Lithuania, where they were given the choice of either leaving the country permanently – or returning to prison.
The decision on the release of the political prisoners came after a visit to Minsk on Thursday by U.S. special envoy John Coale. In exchange, the United States lifted some of the sanctions it had earlier imposed on Belarus.
The released prisoners included nine journalists:
– Iryna Slavnikova: a former journalist for Poland-based independent TV station Belsat, Slavnikova was found guilty of “extremism” and “violating public order”. She had been in prison since October 2021.
– Ihar Losik: a journalist for RFE/RL, he was in prison since June 2020. Losik was sentenced to 15 years in prison on charges of “organizing mass riots” and “incitement to hatred”.
– Alexander Mantsevich: the editor-in-chief of local newspaper Regionalnaya Gazeta from the town of Maladzyechna, he was imprisoned since March 2023 on charges of “discrediting Belarus”.
– Larysa Shchyrakova: an independent journalist from the southern city of Homel, she was detained in December 2022 and jailed for “extremism” and “discrediting Belarus”.
– Yauhen Merkis: an independent reporter who published on mass protests in Belarus in 2020, he was detained in September 2022 and sentenced to prison for “extremism”.
– Pavel Mazheika: a journalist from the western city of Hrodna, he was detained in August 2022 and sentenced to 6 years in prison on charges of “extremism”.
– Vyacheslav Lazarau: a former camera operator for Belsat from Vitsiebsk, Lazarau was detained in February 2023 sentenced to 5.5 years in prison for “extremism”.
– Pavel Padabed: also a former camera operator for Belsat, Padabed was serving a 4-year prison sentence for “extremism” since 2023.
– Alena Tsimoschuk: a journalist from the western city of Brest, she was detained in 2024 and sentenced to five years in prison on charges of “discrediting Belarus”, “extremism” and “incitement of hatred”.
“While we welcome the release of nine courageous journalists in Belarus, who were jailed for nothing more than doing their jobs, we also demand the release of their colleagues who remain behind bars,” said IPI Eastern Europe Advocacy Lead Karol Łuczka.
“Nearly 30 journalists are still being held in Belarusian jails, facing ill treatment and in many cases torture. Along with thousands of other political prisoners in Belarus, they must be set free and allowed to do their jobs at home – not forced to leave their country forever.”
Even following the release of nine media workers, Belarus remains one of the worst jailers of journalists in the world, counting at least 27 more still behind bars, according to figures published by the exiled Belarusian Association of Journalists (BAJ).
Independent journalism is in practice legally forbidden in Belarus, with various articles of the country’s criminal code foreseeing prison terms for vague and politically manipulable charges such as “discrediting Belarus” or “insulting” Alexander Lukashenko.
While journalists, activists and opposition politicians had been jailed on politically motivated charges nearly since the start of Lukashenko’s over 30-year reign, repressions greatly intensified after the falsified 2020 presidential elections and ensuing mass protests against Lukashenko.