March 10, Pozirk. The Committee to Protect Journalists strongly condemns the March 6 sentencing of journalist Paviał Dabravolski to nine years in jail on treason charges, and calls on Belarusian authorities to release him immediately.
“The harsh prison sentence handed down to journalist Pavel Dabravolski, the latest in a recent series of convictions of journalists in retaliation for independent reporting, shows that the media crackdown continues unabated in Belarus,” said Gulnoza Said, CPJ’s Europe and Central Asia program coordinator. “Authorities should immediately release Dabravolski, along with all imprisoned journalists.”
At least 26 journalists are currently behind bars in Belarus, according to the CPJ. At least six of them — Dabravolski, Dzianis Ivašyn, Kaciaryna Andrejeva, Andrej Alaksandraŭ, Uładzimir Janukievič, Andrej Pakalenka and Daniil Palanski are imprisoned on high treason charges, according to Pozirk.
After voting in a presidential election in Minsk on January 26, 2025, Alaksandar Łukašenka made it clear that he had ordered a crackdown on the media in revenge for criticism of the 2020 election and his handling of post-election protests.
“We don’t forgive [those who worked] in the media because they are public figures. It is difficult to forgive journalists, they are public figures,” he said.
