Belarus’ exiled journalist added to CIS wanted list

October 29, Pozirk. The Homiel region’s police have placed exiled journalist Hleb Siamionaŭ on an interstate wanted persons database that Belarus shares with Russia, the Belarusian Association of Journalists (BAJ) reports.

The charges against him remain unknown.

Siamionaŭ gained recognition as Kyky.org’s TikTok account host. He also features on the O(b)suzhdaem comedy show on YouTube and co-hosts a Zerkalo editorial project on YouTube together with political analyst Arciom Šrajbman.

Belarusian law enforcement agencies regularly add Belarusian journalists, media executives and bloggers to the interstate wanted persons list, which features more than 100 independent journalists, among them media manager Alaksandar Vasilevič, journalist Adarja Huštyn and historian Alaksandar Paskievič.

Those listed are wanted in Belarus, Russia and other Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) member countries. In some cases, this can lead to extradition from states that cooperate with the Belarusian authorities.

The database contains names of more than 6,000 Belarusian nationals, including journalists, civil society activists and Alaksandar Lukašenka’s opponents.

Politically-motivated persecution in Belarus has continued unabated since the disputed 2020 presidential vote, with reprisals evolving and taking new forms in recent years.