Dzianis Ivashyn
journalist, sentenced to 13 years and 1 month of imprisonment
Date of birth: 6 June 1979
Date of detention: 12 March 2021
Charges indicted:
Art. 356 of the Criminal Code — High treason
Art. 179 of the Criminal Code — Illegal collection and dissemination of information about private life
Sentence: 13 years and 1 month
Penalty: imprisonment in a high security prison
Prison sentence start date: 17 January 2023
Judge: Valeryi Ramanouski
Prison: Pre-trial detention center No. 8
Statement on the status of a political prisoner
Godparent: Séan Haughey, member of the Irish Dáil
Dzianis Ivashyn is an investigative journalist based in Hrodna. Ivashyn is editor of the Belarusian version of the investigative website informnapalm.org. He is also a freelance reporter for the newspaper Novy Chas.
Ivashyn is known for his investigative publications about Russian influence on Belarus and Syria. His latest article dealt with former officers of the Ukrainian Berkut special police force who fled Ukraine and were hired by the Belarusian riot police.
Ivashyn was detained on March 12 by KGB officers. On the same day, security forces searched the journalist’s apartment and his mother’s house, and on March 15, his 95-year-old grandmother’s home was searched.
Dzianis Ivashyn was remanded in custody for two months.
On March 20, it was reported that Ivashyn had been charged under Art. 365 of the Criminal Code, allegedly for “influencing a police officer” in order to “change the nature of his lawful activities” by disclosing classified information.
In October, Ivashyn reportedly faced new charges under Part 1 of Art. 356 of the Criminal Code (treason), which carry up to 15 years in prison.
In mid-March 2022, human rights defenders learned that the KGB accused Ivashyn of cooperation with Ukrainian intelligence.
On September 14, 2022, the Hrodna Regional Court pronounced the sentence on Novy Chas journalist Dzianis Ivashyn. The political prisoner was sentenced to 13 years and 1 month of imprisonment in a medium-security penal colony. Judge Valeryi Ramanouski also ordered a fine of 4,800 Belarusian rubles ($1,900) and a moral compensation of 2,000 rubles ($800) to each of the nine victims in the case. Ivashyn was convicted of ‘interference in the activities of a police officer’ (Article 365 of the Criminal Code) and ‘high treason’ (Part 1 of Article 356 of the Criminal Code). The trial which lasted for a month was held behind closed doors, as there were “data considered as a state secret”.
Journalist Dzianis Ivashyn sentenced to 13 years in jail for high treason
