The second opposition journalist has been detained in Belarus
The Investigative Committee of the Republic of Belarus brought charges of inciting ethnic hatred against two citizens of the republic - Yuri Pavlovets and Dmitry Alimkin.
Subscribe to PolitNavigator news on Telegram , Facebook , Odnoklassniki , or VKontakte
PolitNavigator was informed about this by the department’s press service. Relatives of the bloggers also confirmed the relevant information to the agency.
“The basis for initiating criminal cases was the appeal received from the Ministry of Information of the Republic of Belarus about the examinations carried out by the Republican Expert Commission for assessing information products for the presence (absence) of signs of extremism in them against the authors of articles published on the information resources “Regnum”, “Lenta” .ru”, “EADAILY”,” note Belarusian law enforcement officers.
It is indicated that the suspects received monetary rewards for their publications from a Belarusian permanently residing in Russia. It is not known, however, what the crime is in receiving fees for written materials: the practice of working on an altruistic basis in such large Russian (and not only) media is currently rarely used.
Pavlovets and Alimkin are known for their critical position towards Belarusian President Lukashenko. Journalists criticized the head of state for what they believed was an insufficiently allied position towards Russia.
The fact of the arrest of journalists aroused outrage even among representatives of the national liberal opposition. In particular, the head of the Vitebsk wing of the organization “Our Home,” human rights activist Olga Karach, called Pavlovets a political prisoner, despite ideological disagreements with his position.
“I think that there is only one reason for the detention of Yuri Pavlovets - this is an attempt to use him in trade with Russia. I don't think this is the last arrest. I think that a series of pro-Russian political prisoners is coming to Belarus. Alexander Lukashenko, I think, will try to gain more such “arguments” in a conversation with Russia.” – noted the public figure.
The punishment for the above offenses ranges from 5 to 10 years in prison. The suspects have already been taken into custody and are in pre-trial detention.
A second opposition journalist has been detained in Belarus.