{"id":197638,"date":"2026-07-28T18:26:06","date_gmt":"2026-07-28T15:26:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/news\/197638\/"},"modified":"2026-07-28T18:26:08","modified_gmt":"2026-07-28T15:26:08","slug":"baj-describes-forced-expulsion-of-journalists-from-belarus-as-kidnapping","status":"publish","type":"articles","link":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/news\/197638\/","title":{"rendered":"BAJ describes forced expulsion of journalists from Belarus as kidnapping"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

July 28, Pozirk.<\/em> <\/strong>Belarusian authorities forcibly removed 192 people, including 14 journalists, from the country last year following talks between Minsk and Washington, the Belarusian Association of Journalists (BAJ) said in a recent report, arguing that the practice amounted to kidnapping under Belarusian law.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Journalists Andrej Ku\u017anie\u010dyk, Ihar Karniej, Iryna Sla\u016dnikava, Mika\u0142aj Dziadok, Pavie\u0142 Ma\u017eejka, Alaksandar Mancevi\u010d, Larysa \u0160\u010dyrakova, Ja\u016dhien Mierkis, Alena Cima\u0161\u010duk, Via\u010das\u0142a\u016d \u0141azara\u016d, Pavie\u0142 Padabied, Ihar \u0141osik, Maryna Zo\u0142atava, Alaksanadar Fiaduta, as well as bloggers D\u017amitryj Kaz\u0142o\u016d and Pavie\u0142 Vinahrada\u016d were forced to leave Belarus in 2025.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This year, Kaciaryna Bachva\u0142ava (Andrejeva) and blogger Eduard Pal\u010dys were also taken out of Belarus after Alaksandar Luka\u0161enka\u2019s meeting with US diplomats.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Each of the journalists forced to leave Belarus had the status of a designated political prisoner, \u201creflecting a heightened level of vulnerability resulting from years of arbitrary detention, during which they were subjected to inhuman and degrading treatment,\u201d the BAJ said. Some journalists and bloggers have been taken out of Belarus without their passports or had their IDs annulled.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cTheir forced expulsion thus constituted a further punishment for their professional activities, extending the pattern of persecution beyond detention itself,\u201d the report reads. \u201cMany journalists have explicitly stated that they had not intended to leave Belarus following their release and expressed a clear desire to return to their home country.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The BAJ described the expulsion of imprisoned journalists and bloggers as an international crime, arguing that it amounted to crimes against humanity, such as deportation and persecution, under Article 7 of the Rome Statute.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cEven if the release of journalists pursued a humanitarian objective, their expulsion cannot be justified on humanitarian grounds and remains impermissible under international law,\u201d the report stressed, urging the democratic states to investigate these violations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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