Iryna Slaunikava

Iry­na Slau­nika­va, jour­nal­ist for TVP, behind bars since 30 Octo­ber 2021

Pol­ish TVP jour­nal­ist and for­mer Bel­sat staff mem­ber Iry­na Slau­nika­va and her hus­band were detained at the Min­sk air­port upon return from vaca­tion on 30 Novem­ber 2021. She spent 30 days in deten­tion for alleged­ly stor­ing «extrem­ist con­tent» and «dis­or­der­ly con­duct.»

It lat­er became known that Slau­nika­va was a crim­i­nal sus­pect.

On 3 August 2022, Homel Region­al Court found Slau­nika­va guilty of «orga­niz­ing protest actions» and «lead­er­ship in an extrem­ist for­ma­tion» and sen­tenced her to 5 years in prison, one year more than request­ed by the pros­e­cu­tion.

Human rights activists rec­og­nized her as a polit­i­cal pris­on­er.

Sen­tence: 5 years of impris­on­ment under Arti­cle 342 of the Crim­i­nal Code (orga­ni­za­tion and prepa­ra­tion of, or active par­tic­i­pa­tion in actions that gross­ly vio­late pub­lic order) and Arti­cle 361–1 of the Crim­i­nal Code (estab­lish­ment of or par­tic­i­pa­tion in an extrem­ist for­ma­tion).

Judge: Mikalai Dolia

Pub­lic pros­e­cu­tor: Iry­na Pad­kavyra­va

Birth­day: 12 July 1970