OP-ED

Vladislav Davidzon: Lukashenko seeks to silence the media

By Vladislav Davidzon.

Published Feb. 20, 2021. Updated Feb. 20 at 4:15 am

Belsat TV journalists Katerina Andreeva (R) and Daria Chultsova, who were detained in November while reporting on anti-government protests, flash the V-sign from a defendant's cage during their trial in Minsk on February 18, 2021. The journalists were sentenced to two years in prison on charges of organising illegal demonstrations.

Photo by AFP

A Minsk court sentenced journalists Katsiaryna Andreyeva and Darya Chultsova to two years in prison on February 18 in a case that highlights the war against free speech that is accompanying Belarus dictator Alyaksandr Lukashenka’s ruthless crackdown on the country’s six-month pro-democracy uprising.