|
SoKatsiaryna Andreyeva, 27, and Darya Chultsova, 23, were
detained in an apartment in November from where they had been
filming protests taking place over the death of a protester who
was killed several days earlier.
Both women pleaded not guilty after being accused of
orchestrating the demonstrations by filming them.
The two journalists appeared in a cage at the hearing on
Thursday, hugging and making "V" for victory signs. Their lawyer
said they would appeal the verdict.
"Just look at Darya and Katsiaryna – strong, smiling, and saying
goodbyes to their loved ones through bars. Lukashenka can't
break us," exiled opposition figure Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya
wrote on Twitter.
Neighbouring Lithuania, where Tsikhanouskaya is based, urged
Minsk to end a "spiral of repression" while Poland said Belarus
should end its persecution of journalists.
More than 33,000 people have been detained in a violent
crackdown on protests against Lukashenko's rule following a
contested election last August that his opponents say was rigged
to extend his rule. He has been in office since 1994.
The crackdown prompted Western countries to impose new sanctions
on Minsk. Lukashenko has refused to step down, buttressed by
support from Moscow, which sees Belarus as a buffer state
against the European Union and NATO.
"Every time I went to work, I risked my health and life,"
Andreyeva had said in a statement earlier. "I managed to hide
from rubber bullets, explosions of stun grenades, blows from
truncheons. My colleagues were much less fortunate."
"I have everything: youth, a job that I love, fame and, most
importantly, a clear conscience."
The journalists were filming protests after the death of
31-year-old Roman Bondarenko, who died in hospital in November
after what protesters say was a severe beating by security
forces. The interior ministry denied responsibility.
Polish President Andrzej Duda instructed Polish diplomats in
Minsk to convey to the Belarusian government his opposition to
the repression of freedom of speech and civil rights. He called
for it to stop and for an amnesty for detainees, presidential
aide Krzysztof Szczerski said.
Lukashenko has mixed promises of reform with a renewed crackdown
this week that saw police raiding the homes of journalists and
rights activists and one of Lukashenko's main electoral
opponents put on trial for corruption.
A separate trial begins on Friday of a journalist from the local
outlet TUT.BY who contradicted the government's assertion that
Bondarenko had been drunk at the time of his death.
The Belsat TV channel specializes in news from Belarus and
employs mostly Belarusian citizens.
(Additional reporting by Agnieszka Barteczko in Warsaw; writing
by Matthias Williams; editing by John Stonestreet and Angus
MacSwan)
[© 2021 Thomson Reuters. All rights
reserved.] Copyright 2021 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published,
broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Thompson Reuters is solely responsible for this content.
|
|
