Status: 09.01.2023 7:58 p.m
They reported on demonstrations, now they are on trial: Journalists in Belarus are accused, among other things, of “inciting hatred”. Their news site was once the most popular online medium in the country.
In Belarus, five journalists from the online news site tut.by, which has since been banned, have been brought to justice. Editor-in-chief Maryna Solatava and general director Lyudmila Chekina are accused of “violating national security”, “inciting hatred” and tax evasion in the trial that began on Monday. Three other journalists were tried in absentia because they fled abroad. The trial is taking place behind closed doors in the capital, Minsk. Western diplomats and independent journalists were not allowed.
A photo released by opposition leader Svetlana Tikhanovskaya showed Solatava and Chekina sitting in a cage for the accused in court. “We must support all journalists who fight for the truth!” Tichanovskaya wrote on Twitter.
Tut.by reported extensively on demonstrations
The Belarusian secret service has put Solatava and three of her colleagues on a list of terrorist suspects. Tut.by had reported extensively on the demonstrations after the re-election of President Alexander Lukashenko in August 2020, which was widely regarded as a fraud. Security forces cracked down on the protests. More than 35,000 people were arrested, thousands were beaten up by the police, and dozens of media outlets and non-governmental organizations were banned. According to the Belarusian Union of Journalists, 32 journalists are currently behind bars.
Tut.by rose to become the most popular online medium in Belarus and had more than 3.3 million users before it was banned in 2021. Many employees fled abroad and organized a new news site called Zerkalo.io, which is blocked in Belarus. There, the trial was now seen as an expression of the government’s fear of journalists and real news. “Belarus is rushing towards the alternate reality where real news is considered evil,” wrote Zerkalo.io.
A trial against the imprisoned Nobel Peace Prize winner Ales Byalyatski had already begun in Minsk last week. The co-founder of the human rights organization Vyazna and several fellow campaigners face between seven and twelve years in prison. The opposition leader Tichanovskaya will soon be tried in absentia. The exiled politician is accused of high treason, conspiring to overthrow the government and forming an extremist organization.