On September 11, Belarus released 52 political prisoners, including eight journalists who had been unjustly detained for years. Their freedom followed the United States’ decision to lift sanctions on Belarus national airline.
While this release is a positive step, many journalists remain imprisoned in Belarus simply for their work. We join the call for the release of all those still behind bars.
Journalists released on September 11 included:
- Iryna Slaunikava, Poland-based broadcaster Belsat TV (detained since October 2021)
- Pavel Mazheika, Belsat TV (detained since August 2022)
- Yauhen Merkis, freelancer (detained since September 2022)
- Larysa Shchyrakova, freelancer (detained since December 2022)
- Alyaksandr Mantsevich, editor-in-chief, Rehiyanalnaya Gazeta (detained since March 2023)
- Alena Tsimashchuk, freelancer (detained since October 2023)
- Vyacheslau Lazarau, freelance camera operator (detained since February 2023)
- Pavel Padabed, freelance camera operator (detained since January 2023)
The list also included Ihar Losik, blogger and social media consultant for Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL), who had been jailed since June 2020 and sentenced to 15 years in December 2021. While his detention has clear press freedom implications, Losik was not included in CPJ’s annual prison census, which only tracks those jailed exclusively for journalistic work.
This year alone, Belarus has released several journalists: three pardoned by President Aleksandr Lukashenko in early 2024 and three more freed prior to September 11. Still, the country remains one of the world’s worst jailers of journalists, with at least 31 reporters behind bars as of CPJ’s December 1, 2024, prison census.