Belarusian authorities have detained journalist Ihar Ilyash since October 2024 on undisclosed charges. CPJ was unable to confirm the date of Ilyash’s arrest or the charges brought against him.
On October 22, the pro-government Telegram channel Kniga GU “BAZA” published a video in which Ilyash said he worked with banned Poland-based independent broadcaster Belsat TV and gave interviews to media outlets that Belarus has labeled “extremist groups.”
“Because of this, I’m detained,” Ilyash said in the video.
The Telegram channel said in the caption accompanying the video that Ilyash “was involved in promoting extremist groups and collecting information for foreign intelligence services” with his wife, Belsat TV journalist Katsiaryna Andreyeva.
Andreyeva has been detained since November 2020, when she was arrested while reporting live in Minsk, the capital, on mass protests demanding President Aleksandr Lukashenko’s resignation. Authorities labeled Belsat TV as “extremist” in July 2021.
Authorities previously detained Ilyash multiple times in connection with his work.
On October 30, the Belarusian Association of Journalists, an advocacy and trade group operating from exile, reported that Ilyash had been transferred to a pretrial detention center. A BAJ representative told CPJ, under the condition of anonymity for fear of reprisal, that this meant Ilyash was criminally charged.
CPJ’s emails to the Belarusian Investigative Committee, the country’s law enforcement agency responsible for investigating crimes, in late 2024 for comment did not receive any reply.