News on the topic: criminal prosecution
31.01.2019 TUT.by chief editor to stand trial soon
The trial of Maryna Zolatava, editor-in-chief of the popular news portal TUT.BY, will start on February, 12 in Minsk.
27.11.2018 Investigators drop charges against more journalists in “BelTA case”
On November 26, the Investigative Committee stopped criminal proceedings against tut.by editor Uliyana Babayed and BelaPAN political analyst Tatsiana Karaviankova, after they covered financial losses to the government-owned BelTA news agency.
23.11.2018 BelTA case: two journalists discharged, tut.by chief editor faces graver charges
Pauliuk Bykouski, Deutsche Welle reporter in Belarus, has been exempted from criminal charges of illegal access to the closed news feed of the government-owned BelTA agency, and will be tried on administrative charges, instead. Criminal charges have also been dropped against Uladzislau Kuletski, editor of the realt.by website.
13.11.2018 IndustriALL: Unjust verdict against union leaders in Belarus upheld
The city court of Minsk decided on 09 November to uphold the guilty verdict against two trade union leaders in Belarus, which has been widely condemned as unjust.
12.11.2018 Viasna protests harassment of its activist in Mahilioŭ
Statement by the Human Rights Center “Viasna”
09.11.2018 Minsk City Court confirms sentence in trade union case
The Minsk City Court has upheld today the sentence of 4 years of restricted freedom earlier handed down to Henadz Fiadynich and Ihar Komlik, leaders of the trade union REP, on charges of tax evasion.
08.11.2018 Journalists involved in BelTA case face formal charges
Eight journalists working with the tut.by and belapan.by news websites have been officially charged with “unauthorized accesses to computer information” in what is known as the “BelTA case”, Belarusian Association of Journalists said.
05.09.2018 Case Belarus v. Henadz Fiadynich and Ihar Komlik. Trial observation report
“Conviction of leaders of independent trade union REP Henadz Fiadynich and Ihar Komlik on tax evasion charges is politically motivated and trial proceedings were marred by procedural irregularities”, concludes the Observatory for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders (an FIDH-OMCT partnership) in a report published on August 30. “The convictions should be overturned on appeal”.
29.08.2018 Front Line Defenders urges Belarus to quash convictions against Fiadynich and Komlik
The authorities in Belarus should immediately quash the convictions against Henadz Fiadynich and Ihar Komlik, leaders of the trade union REP, and fully restore their liberty, Front Line Defenders said in an urgent appeal, as it believes that they are solely in relation to their peaceful and legitimate work in the defense of human rights.
27.08.2018 Belarus: Trade Union leaders found guilty of tax evasion after a sham trial
Press release by the Observatory for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders
24.08.2018 Statement by Belarusian human rights organizations on sentence in REP trial
On August 24, 2018, Henadz Fiadynich, chairperson of the Belarusian Independent Trade Union of Radio Electronic Industry Workers (REP), and Ihar Komlik, the Union’s accountant, were found guilty of committing a crime under Part 2, Art. 243 of the Criminal Code (large-scale tax evasion).
15.08.2018 Political bias in REP trial ill-disguised, say IndustriALL observers
The politically motivated charges against Henadz Fiadynich and Ihar Komlik, leaders of the trade union REP, are “solely aimed at paralyzing the union activities,” say observers of the IndustriALL Global Trade Union after attending the trial that opened on July 30.
13.08.2018 Belarus cracks down on journalists and publishers as oppressive new media laws bite, UN expert warns
GENEVA (10 August 2018) – A wave of raids and arbitrary arrests targeting independent publishers and journalists in Belarus highlights oppressive new rules against internet media in the country, says the UN Special Rapporteur on the human rights situation in Belarus, Miklós Haraszti.
10.08.2018 Statement of the Belarusian National Platform of the Eastern Partnership Civil Society Forum
In connection with the wave of searches in the editorial offices of the media and the detention of journalists
09.08.2018 BelaPAN chief editor detained, more journalists remain in custody
Iryna Leushyna, chief editor of the BelaPAN news agency, has been detained today, tut.by said. Her apartment has been searched and computer equipment seized.










