An imprisoned journalist in Belarus designated a political prisoner by a leading rights group
8 months, 3 weeks ago

An imprisoned journalist in Belarus designated a political prisoner by a leading rights group

Associated Press  

TALLINN, Estonia — A prominent journalist in Belarus was designated a political prisoner on Tuesday by the country’s leading human rights group following his conviction on charges widely seen as part of an ongoing crackdown on dissent. Karnei is a member of the Belarusian Association of Journalists, or BAJ, the country’s top independent journalist group championing freedom of speech that has been branded extremist by authoritarian President Alexander Lukashenko’s government. During his trial, Belarusian authorities accused Karnei of cooperation with BAJ to publish “materials insulting the head of state and representatives of the government.” “This is not a sentence to Karnei, but to the government that throws journalists behind bars just for professionally doing their job,” BAJ head Andrei Bastunets said. The Viasna human rights center, Belarus’ oldest and most prominent rights group, classified Karnei as a political prisoner, criticizing his conviction and sentencing as “part of a deliberate policy by the authorities to limit the dissemination of uncensored information in the country and an attack on freedom of expression.” The New York-based Committee to Protect Journalists denounced the verdict against Karnei as “a typical example of the expediency and arbitrariness of the sentences handed down to independent journalists in the country” and demanded the immediate release of Karnei and other jailed Belarusian journalists.

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