Yuliya Slutskaya
founder of Press Club Belarus, released
Former prisoner
Date of birth: 15 September 1964
Date of detention: 22 December 2020
Charges indicted:
- Art. 243 of the Criminal Code — Evasion of taxes and fees
Date of release: 19 August 2021
Yuliya Slutskaya is the founder and chairperson of Press Club Belarus. Slutskaya has been working in journalism since 1994. She graduated from BSU's Faculty of Philosophy, and worked as a sociologist before entering the media sphere. In 1995-2006, Slutskaya was editor-in-chief of the Komsomolskaya Pravda v Belarusi daily. In 2007-2010, she was editor-in-chief of European Radio for Belarus, since 2011 - founder and director of the Warsaw-based information office “Belarus in Focus”.
Slutskaya was detained on December 22 at Minsk airport upon her return to Belarus. From there she was taken to her apartment. A smartphone, a laptop and bank cards were seized after a search. After that, she was taken to the Department for Financial Investigations for interrogation.
Slutskaya was remanded in the temporary detention facility in Akrestsin Street, and then transferred to pre-trial prison No. 1, where she is still being held.
On December 31, it became known that Yuliya Slutskaya was charged under Part 2 of Article 243 of the Criminal Code - Evasion of taxes and fees on an especially large scale.
On August 19, 2021, Slutskaya was released after spending eight months in pre-trial detention.
