Former National TV journalist sentenced to 4 years in prison

Dzmit­ry Luk­sha, his wife Pali­na Palavin­ka, Dzia­n­is Yarous­ki, and cam­era­man Kanstantsin Nikanorau were accused of “dis­cred­it­ing Belarus” and “active par­tic­i­pa­tion in group actions, gross­ly vio­lat­ing pub­lic order.”

Accord­ing to the indict­ment, from Novem­ber 2021 to March 2022 Luk­sha “reg­u­lar­ly deliv­ered mate­ri­als about events tak­ing place in the Repub­lic of Belarus to a for­eign TV chan­nel for remu­ner­a­tion.” Par­tic­u­lar­ly, togeth­er with his wife, he pre­pared a report on the vio­la­tion of migrants’ rights based on inter­views with Syr­i­an refugees in a for­est and com­ment­ed on the dete­ri­o­rat­ing eco­nom­ic sit­u­a­tion in Belarus.

Judge Natal­lia Buhuk sen­tenced Dzmit­ry Luk­sha to four years in prison and a fine of $6,350, Pali­na Palavin­ka – to two years and six months in prison and a fine of $1,270, Dzia­n­is Yarous­ki – to one year and six months in prison and a fine of $1,270, Kanstantsin Nikanorau – to three years of home con­fine­ment and a fine of $1,270.