Two journalists, 23 and 27, get two years in jail for live-streaming a protest in Belarus
Belsat
TV journalists Yekaterina Andreyeva (right) and Darya Chultsova (left)
embrace each other in a defendant's cage during their trial in Minsk on
February 18.
Moscow (CNN)A court in Belarus sentenced two journalists with the independent Belsat TV channel to two years in prison for live-streaming a demonstration, their employer and Belarussian Association of Journalists said in statements following the court hearing Thursday.
Journalists
Darya Chultsova, 23, and Yekaterina Andreyeva, 27, were detained in
November while covering a demonstration in memory of an opposition
activist who died in Minsk a few days before.
Local
media reported that the activist, Roman Bondarenko, apparently died
from injuries sustained after being beaten by riot police. The
Prosecutor General of Belarus announced on Wednesday that an
investigation into his death has been launched but said "that the
involvement of employees of the internal affairs bodies in causing
Bondarenko bodily harm has not been established."
The
court on Thursday ruled that Chultsova and Andreyeva are guilty of
"organizing a demonstration that grossly violates public order."
According
to the investigators, Belsat reported, the journalists allegedly
gathered protesters by talking about it on air, which then led to
"interruptions of public transport in the area." Chultsova and Andreyeva
maintain they are innocent.
"I
have everything: youth, a job that I love, prominence and, most
importantly, a clear conscience. I want to devote all my energy to the
creation of Belarus without political repression. I demand an acquittal
for myself, for my colleagues and for hundreds of political prisoners,"
Andreyeva said at a previous court hearing on Wednesday, according to
local media.
Belarussian
human rights group Viasna designated Chultsova and Andreyeva as
political prisoners and said charges against them are drawn up because
of their journalistic work. Belsat is a politically independent TV
channel based in Poland that primarily reports on Belarus. Its budget
relies on Polish state subsidies.
Chultsova (left) and Andreyeva were detained in November while covering a demonstration in memory of an opposition activist.
A
spokesperson for the US State Department condemned the convictions,
saying they appeared "politically motivated," and called on the
Belarusian government to release all journalists in custody.
"Every
Belarusian citizen is entitled to the rights provided in the Belarusian
constitution, and Belarus has international obligations to respect the
rights to freedom of expression and peaceful assembly," the spokesperson
said.
"We
stand with the Belarusian people in their aspirations for a democratic,
prosperous future and support their call for the regime to respect
human rights and fundamental freedoms."
Belarus
has been engulfed in mass protests since presidential elections in
August 2020, after Alexander Lukashenko, who has been in power since
1994, secured his sixth term. Independent observers said the election
was rigged, and tens of thousands poured onto the streets to demand
Lukashenko's resignation.
Riot police have cracked down harshly, beating and detaining thousands of protesters. CNN and other outlets previously reported on torture in detention centers described by former detainees and their families as well as persecution opposition activists faced in Belarus.
"Just
look at Darya and Katsiaryna [the Belarusian spelling of Yekaterina] --
strong, smiling, and saying goodbyes to their loved ones through bars.
Lukashenka [Lukashenko] can't break us," exiled Belarussian opposition
leader Svetlana Tikhanovskaya said in a tweet on Thursday.
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