January 23, Pozirk. The Prosecutor General’s Office has filed six criminal charges against Siarhiej Dubaviec, a RFE/RL Belarus Service journalist.
Prosecutors accuse him of inciting hatred, setting up an extremist group, staging riots, “rehabilitating Nazism,” denying the genocide of the Belarusian people and defaming Alaksandar Łukašenka.
“In his blog, the suspect . . . spread deliberately false and openly destructive information about the political, economic, social, military and international situation of the Republic of Belarus, the legal status of its citizens, discrediting the Republic of Belarus, authorities and administration,” the office said.
Dubaviec, who lives in a European Union country, dismissed the charges as ridiculous. “My opinions should give rise to debate, not criminal cases,” he told Pozirk.
“The current government is not capable of holding discussions, it just gives orders and engages in repression,” he added.
The Investigative Committee is reportedly in charge of a preliminary investigation.
On December 23, 2021, the interior ministry blacklisted RFE/RL Belarus Service as an “extremist” group. RFE/RL journalist Aleh Hruzdiłovič was arrested on the same day and later given 18 months in prison on protest-related charges. Authorities released him in September 2022.
RFE/RL contributors Andrej Kuźniečyk and Ihar Łosik remain behind bars in Belarus, serving lengthy prison terms on charges widely seen as politically motivated.
Ihar Karniej, who had worked for RFE/RL in 2000-2021, is held in the pre-trial detention center as he waits for his trial.
At least 34 media workers are behind bars in Belarus, according to the Belarusian Association of Journalists.
