Jailed former RFE/RL reporter given eight more months in prison
December 13, Pozirk. The Škłoŭ District Court in the Mahiłoŭ region has sentenced imprisoned journalist Ihar Karniej, 56, to eight additional months in prison for disobeying prison authorities, the RFE/RL Belarus Service reported.
Belarusian authorities routinely use this charge to keep political prisoners behind bars longer.
Alaksandar Tarakanaŭ, a judge on the European Union’s sanctions list, presided over the proceedings.
Karniej, a former RFE/RL Belarus Service correspondent, has been in custody since July 2023. In March, he was given three years in prison on charges of association with an extremist group. A few months later, authorities also blacklisted him as an extremist.
The administration of Škłoŭ’s Penal Colony No 17 has reportedly placed the journalist in internal prison several times.
Karniej had a long history of cooperating with independent media. Human rights groups consider him a political prisoner.
RSF: Belarus world’s fourth largest prison for journalists
December 12, Pozirk. Belarus ranked fourth in the top 10 countries by the number of imprisoned journalists this year, Reporters Without Borders (RSF) said in its annual report. China leads the list of the world's largest prisons for journalists with …