Iryna Slaunikava
journalist, sentenced to 5 years of imprisonment
Prisoner
Date of birth: 12 July 1970
Date of detention: 30 October 2021
Charges indicted:
- Art. 342 of the Criminal Code — Organization and preparation of actions that grossly violate public order, or active participation in them
- Art. 361-1 of the Criminal Code — Creation of an extremist formation, or participation in it
Sentence: 5 years
Penalty: imprisonment in a general-security penal colony
Judge: Mikalai Dolia
Prosecutor: Iryna Padkavyrava
Prison: Penal colony No. 4
Notes: Detention upon return to Belarus, Health issues
Groups: Journalists
Statement on the status of a political prisoner
Godparent: Thomas Hacker, Member of the German Bundestag
Iryna Slaunikava, a former Belsat TV representative in Belarus, was detained at Minsk airport on October 30, 2021 as she and her husband were returning from vacation.
On November 1, judge Maksim Trusevich of the Pieršamajski District Court of Minsk sentenced both to 15 days of administrative imprisonment for allegedly posting content on Facebook that was earlier labeled as “extremist”.
On November 15, for the second time in a row, the journalist was sentenced to 15 days administrative imprisonment, after judge Maksim Trusevich of the Pieršamajski District Court of Minsk found her guilty on charges of “disorderly conduct”.
On November 26, it became known that Iryna Slaunikava was a suspect in a case under Article 342 of the Criminal Code ("organization and preparation of actions that grossly violate public order, or active participation in them").
On August 3, 2022, the Homieĺ Regional Court sentenced the political prisoner to five years of imprisonment in a general-security penal colony.
Journalist Iryna Slaunikava sentenced to five years in jail
