{"id":155700,"date":"2025-09-16T14:31:09","date_gmt":"2025-09-16T11:31:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/news\/155700\/"},"modified":"2026-03-09T20:10:49","modified_gmt":"2026-03-09T20:10:49","slug":"journalist-iljas-given-four-years-in-prison-for-allegedly-discrediting-belarus-in-his-articles","status":"publish","type":"articles","link":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/news\/155700\/","title":{"rendered":"Journalist Ilja\u0161 given four years in prison for allegedly discrediting Belarus in his articles"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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September 16, Pozirk<\/em>.<\/strong> The Minsk City Court has sentenced journalist Ihar Ilja\u0161 to four years in prison, as requested by prosecutors, Radyjo Svaboda<\/em> reports.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He may be sent to a maximum security prison, Siarhiej Vahana\u016d, grandfather of his jailed wife and journalist Kaciaryna Andrejeva (Bachva\u0142ava), said on Facebook.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ilja\u0161 had pleaded not guilty to charges of discrediting Belarus and facilitating extremism, and today dismissed the accusations in his final statement. His lawyer plans to file an appeal with the Supreme Court within 10 days.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Earlier, Vahana\u016d said that Belarusian experts were unable to prove that Ilja\u0161 had spread any false information. He also accused Siarhiej Lebiadzinski, head of the department at Belarusian State University who made a psycholinguistic analysis of the journalist\u2019s articles, of bias.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

New York Times<\/em> and Guardian<\/em> journalists, temporarily accredited in Belarus, were present at today’s hearing, Vahana\u016d said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ilja\u0161 was arrested in late October 2024 for giving interviews to media outlets that the authorities have labeled as extremist. Human rights organizations recognized both Andrejeva and Ilja\u0161 as political prisoners.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In recent years, the Belarusian government has increasingly equated independent journalism with extremism, prosecuting individuals for granting interviews to non-state media.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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