Published: Just now
Five journalists were put on trial in Belarus’ capital Minsk on Monday, accused of “damaging the nation’s security”. The trials are part of the regime’s attempt to silence and suppress all opposition in the country.
Two of the defendants, editor-in-chief Maryna Zolatava and Ljudmila Tjekina of the leading news site Tut.by, are on trial in Minsk. Three more journalists who fled the country are being tried in their absence
All the accused have also been put on a “terrorist list” by the Belarusian intelligence service, which has reclaimed the name KGB from the Soviet era.
All are threatened with twelve years in prison.
The trials relate to protests and reporting after the 2020 election when President Aleksandr Lukashenko was re-elected. The election is considered rigged by all Western observers, and the outcome of the election was questioned in Belarus.
Tut.by was banned in 2021, and before that had just over three million returning visitors.