Belarus’ crackdown on independent journalism continued Friday with the sentencing of two independent reporters to long prison terms after a high treason case in Brest, according to media rights advocates. The Belarusian Association of Journalists said the Regional Court in Brest convicted Uladzimir Yanukevich, 65, and Andrei Pakalenka, 44, and handed each lengthy sentences. The court held proceedings behind closed doors, and the details of the charges were not fully clear to outside observers, the advocates said.
Yanukevich founded and edited the Intex-Press and BAR24 outlets, which media rights groups described as among the most popular in Belarus, according to the Associated Press. Bastunets’ group said Yanukevich received a 14-year sentence, while it said Pakalenka received a 12-year sentence. State television, meanwhile, carried a report alleging the journalists had links to the German Embassy, the AP reported.
Bastunets criticized the verdicts as part of a broader pattern of repression against journalists and dissent in Belarus. “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,” Bastunets told the Associated Press. He added, “Any dissent is harshly punished by the authorities,” according to the report.
The Associated Press report also said Yanukevich, who has serious health issues, has been denied proper medical assistance while in custody, according to the Belarusian Association of Journalists. It further said that Yanukevich and Pakalenka had been among seven Intex-Press journalists arrested in December 2024 after searches of editorial offices and homes.
According to the AP, in August 2025, four of the Intex-Press journalists were convicted of aiding “extremist activities” and sentenced to a work-release program at designated factories, a label the report said the Belarusian authorities frequently use to silence independent voices. The AP said Yanukevich and Pakalenka were later tried on high treason charges and sentenced in Friday’s closed-door proceedings in Brest.
Also on Friday, the AP reported that the Minsk City Court opened a trial of another independent journalist, Pavel Dabravolski, who faces high treason charges. The report said Dabravolski has been in custody since his arrest in January 2025 and has worked for Belarusian and international media outlets.
From exile, opposition leader Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya responded to the convictions by arguing that journalism itself is being punished. “Journalism is not a crime, and the convicted journalists are victims of the authorities who are building a totalitarian state,” she told the Associated Press. She also said, “Lukashenko’s regime fears the truth more than anything.”
Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko has ruled for more than three decades and has maintained his grip on power through a crackdown on dissent, the AP said. Following a 2020 election that was widely seen as rigged, Belarus saw large protests and a sweeping crackdown that included mass arrests, beatings, and the closure or banning of independent media and nongovernmental organizations. The AP reported that 28 independent journalists remain imprisoned in Belarus, according to Bastunets’ group, and that the human-rights group Viasna says Belarus has 1,143 political prisoners.
At the same time, the Associated Press said Lukashenko has recently sought to repair relations with the West by releasing hundreds of political prisoners, while Belarus’ authorities continued suppressing dissent. Friday’s sentences underscored that the crackdown continues through criminal cases against independent journalists, even as some detainees are released.