On November 15, Katsiaryna Andreyeva (Bakhvalava), a journalist with the Poland-based broadcaster Belsat, and her colleague and camerawoman, Darya Chultsova, livestreamed a protest in Minsk demanding an investigation into Bandarenka’s death. They ran the livestream from an apartment with the owners’ permission. Two days later, a court sentenced them to seven days in detention on administrative charges of “participating in an unsanctioned mass gathering” because they livestreamed the gathering. On November 20, the authorities opened a criminal investigation against them on charges of coordinating “activities violating public order,” and the women remain in custody.
On February 19, a court sentenced Andreyeva and Chultsova to two years in prison.
On January 12, police searched the house of Andrei Aliaksandrau, a journalist and media manager, confiscated equipment and money, and arrested him and his partner, Irina Zlobina, on criminal charges of “organizing activities violating public order.” On January 14, investigators also searched the office of BelaPAN, the outlet where Aliaksandrau worked as a consultant, seizing equipment.
On January 15, First Deputy Interior Minister Gennady Kazakevich claimed that Aliaksandrau and Zlobina had been financing protesters by paying their fines with money from BYHELP, a fund established to assist victims of repression in Belarus.
On January 21, the investigative committee indicted Aliaksandrau and Zlobina. The couple remains in custody pending the investigation. If convicted, they face a maximum three-year prison sentence. Continue
