Journalists in Exile, Security Threats, and Solidarity: Vilnius Forum Honors Belarusian Editor

The annu­al Forum of Baltic and Per­se­cut­ed Jour­nal­ists opened on Decem­ber 18 at Lithuania’s par­lia­ment vis­i­tors’ cen­ter, focus­ing on region­al secu­ri­ty chal­lenges and cross-bor­der repres­sion, while the Free­dom Hope Award was pre­sent­ed to Belaru­sian jour­nal­ist and for­mer polit­i­cal pris­on­er Ali­ak­san­dr Mant­se­vich.

Aksana Kolb, Andrei Dynko and Dainius Babi­las from the Depart­ment of Nation­al Minori­ties at the Forum of Jour­nal­ists of the Baltic States and Per­se­cut­ed Jour­nal­ists. Decem­ber 18, 2025. Pho­to: BAJ

The event was orga­nized by the Belaru­sian Asso­ci­a­tion of Jour­nal­ists (BAJ), the Lithuan­ian Jour­nal­ists’ Union, the Seimas of Lithua­nia, and the Office of the Lithuan­ian Inspec­tor of Jour­nal­ist Ethics.

Open­ing the forum, Speak­er of the Seimas Juozas Olekas empha­sized that Lithua­nia has become a place of refuge for Belaru­sian jour­nal­ists forced into exile. He not­ed that jour­nal­ists today face hybrid attacks, includ­ing dis­in­for­ma­tion and cyber threats, and stressed the impor­tance of pro­fes­sion­al, trans­par­ent, and truth­ful report­ing in ensur­ing infor­ma­tion secu­ri­ty.

Speak­er of the Seimas Juozas Olekas at the Forum of Baltic and Per­se­cut­ed Jour­nal­ists. Decem­ber 18, 2025. Pho­to: BAJ

BAJ Chair Andrei Bas­tunets high­light­ed the grow­ing pres­sure on Belaru­sian jour­nal­ists work­ing abroad, includ­ing crim­i­nal cas­es opened in Belarus, cyber­at­tacks, phish­ing, and transna­tion­al repres­sion. Despite these chal­lenges, he said, Belaru­sian inde­pen­dent jour­nal­ism remains an impor­tant fac­tor for region­al secu­ri­ty. Bas­tunets also not­ed that while some jour­nal­ists have recent­ly been released, at least 28 media work­ers remain impris­oned in Belarus.

Andrei Bas­tunets at the Forum of Baltic and Per­se­cut­ed Jour­nal­ists. Decem­ber 18, 2025. Pho­to: BAJ

“We are very glad that jour­nal­ists are being released — Mary­na Zolata­va has just been freed. But on the same day we learned that a media pro­fes­sion­al was detained in Belarus; we can­not name them due to con­cerns for their rel­a­tives. As a result, our list of impris­oned jour­nal­ists once again stands at 28,” said Andrei Bas­tunets.

Pres­i­dent of the Euro­pean Fed­er­a­tion of Jour­nal­ists Maja Sev­er expressed sol­i­dar­i­ty with Belaru­sian jour­nal­ists in exile and in prison, stress­ing that attacks on jour­nal­ists are attacks on press free­dom, the public’s right to infor­ma­tion, and demo­c­ra­t­ic val­ues across Europe. She warned that threats to media free­dom are spread­ing beyond author­i­tar­i­an states and called for stronger inter­na­tion­al coop­er­a­tion.

The forum also includ­ed dis­cus­sions on cross-bor­der inves­tiga­tive jour­nal­ism, sanc­tions eva­sion schemes, and new secu­ri­ty risks fac­ing jour­nal­ists in the region.

Edi­tor-in-chief of Rehi­janal­na­ja Haze­ta Ali­ak­san­dr Mant­se­vich at the Free­dom Hope Award cer­e­mo­ny. Decem­ber 18, 2025. Pho­to: BAJ

Dur­ing the forum, the annu­al Free­dom Hope Award was pre­sent­ed to Ali­ak­san­dr Mant­se­vich, a for­mer polit­i­cal pris­on­er and edi­tor-in-chief of Rehi­janal­na­ja Haze­ta. The award, now in its sixth year, hon­ors Belaru­sian jour­nal­ists for their com­mit­ment to press free­dom.