Belarus jails journalist for Polish broadcaster; Warsaw vows response

A Belarusian court sentenced a journalist for Polish broadcaster Belsat TV to five years in jail on Wednesday. (Shutterstock)

• Iryna Slaunikava, the journalist, was found guilty of setting up an extremist group and organising mass unrest
• Most of her trial was held behind closed doors

DUBAI: A Belarusian court convicted a journalist for Polish broadcaster Belsat TV to five years in jail on Wednesday, a verdict Warsaw described as unacceptable and one that it would respond to.
Iryna Slaunikava, the journalist, was found guilty of setting up an extremist group and organizing mass unrest, the latest of scores to be jailed under such charges during a crackdown that has rumbled on since a spate of protests in 2020.
Slaunikava was arrested in October at an airport as she returned from a holiday. Most of her trial was held behind closed doors, but she could be seen in a cage for the defendant when the verdict was handed down.
Belsat is a Polish broadcaster focused on Belarusian news that Minsk has branded as extremist.
Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki described her jailing as an “absolute scandal, a violation of all civilization norms, human rights and journalistic standards.”
“This unacceptable verdict will meet with Poland’s immediate, decisive reaction at an international level,” he wrote on Facebook.
Last month, a Belarusian court sentenced another Belsat journalist to eight years in jail for treason.
The Belarusian Vesna-96 rights group estimates Belarus is holding about 1,300 political prisoners.
Many of them were arrested during a wave of protests against President Alexander Lukashenko who has been in power since 1994.