February 10, Pozirk. The Supreme Court on Friday upheld a four-year prison sentence for journalist Volha Radzivonava, the Belarusian Association of Journalists (BAJ) has reported.
In December, Radzivonava was sentenced for cooperating with the German newspaper Die Tageszeitung.
The prosecutor charged that Radzivonava contributed a series of articles “with remarks aimed at inciting ethnic and social hatred and discord, discrediting our republic and libeling and insulting the head of state.”
In addition, the judge ordered Radzivonava to give away the income she “obtained through criminal means,” in a reference to fees she was paid for her contribution.
Before 2020, Radzivonava worked at KYKY.org and also cooperated with Belarusian and foreign media as a freelancer. She was arrested in March 2024.
The Minsk Regional Court sentenced her to four years in a minimum-security penal colony on December 10. Human rights groups have declared her a political prisoner. Radzivonava’s mother is over 80 and needs permanent care.
The BAJ says that at least 41 journalists and other media workers are in prison in Belarus.
