A Belarusian court has handed down lengthy prison terms to two independent media professionals on high treason charges, marking another escalation in the government’s ongoing suppression of press freedom, according to media rights organizations.
The Regional Court in Brest, located near the Polish border, sentenced 65-year-old Uladzimir Yanukevich to 14 years behind bars and his 44-year-old associate Andrei Pakalenka to 12 years imprisonment. Yanukevich established and ran the widely-read Intex-Press and BAR24 news organizations, which ranked among Belarus’s most popular media platforms.
Court proceedings were conducted without public access, and specific details about the accusations against both men remain undisclosed. Government television reported allegations connecting the journalists to Germany’s diplomatic mission.
“These horrific sentences show that the authorities have no intention of halting the most sweeping repressions against journalists in Europe, now in its sixth year,” Belarusian Association of Journalists head Andrei Bastunets told The Associated Press. “Any dissent is harshly punished by the authorities.”
The journalists’ association reports that Yanukevich, who suffers from significant medical conditions, has been refused adequate healthcare during his detention.
Alexander Lukashenko has controlled Belarus for more than 30 years, using systematic oppression to maintain authority. After the disputed 2020 electoral process sparked massive demonstrations, over 65,000 protesters were detained, thousands suffered physical abuse, and hundreds of independent news organizations and civil society groups were shuttered.
Twenty-eight independent media workers are currently incarcerated in Belarus, Bastunets’ organization reports.
Both journalists were part of a group of seven Intex-Press staff members taken into custody in December 2024 following raids on their workplace and residences. Four others from their newsroom received convictions in August 2025 for supporting “extremist activities” and were assigned to supervised labor programs at state-designated facilities.
Belarusian officials routinely invoke extremism allegations to silence independent reporting.
Friday also saw the opening of proceedings against Pavel Dabravolski, another independent journalist facing high treason accusations at Minsk City Court. Dabravolski, who has reported for both domestic and international news organizations, has remained in detention since January 2025.
“Journalism is not a crime, and the convicted journalists are victims of the authorities who are building a totalitarian state,” exiled Belarusian opposition leader Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya told AP. “Lukashenko’s regime fears the truth more than anything.”
Western nations have imposed sanctions and diplomatic isolation on Belarus for its repressive policies and for permitting Russia to launch attacks on Ukraine from Belarusian territory in 2022. Despite recent prisoner releases aimed at improving international relations, Lukashenko has continued suppressing opposition voices.
Human rights organization Viasna documents 1,143 individuals currently imprisoned for political reasons in Belarus.
