January 28, Pozirk. Barys Harecki, deputy chairman of the Belarusian Association of Journalists (BAJ), has been added to the list of suspected criminals wanted in Belarus and Russia, Mediazona Belarus reported.
Harecki has held the post since 2018. The list does not indicate the charges leveled against the activist.
The Supreme Court dissolved the BAJ in August 2021 but the organization continued its operations abroad.
In February 2023, the Belarusian Committee for State Security (KGB) declared it an extremist group. It alleged that BAJ chairman Andrej Bastuniec, his deputies Barys Harecki, Aleh Ahiejeŭ and Alaksandar Starykievič, board member Alina Suraviec, information service head Volha Chvoin and members Zoja Łukašuk and Siarhiej Komłač carried out “extremist activities.”
In June 2023, a Minsk court declared the association’s main and backup websites to be extremist. The same status was given to the BAJ social media and logo.
