Katsiaryna Bakhvalava
journalist, sentenced to 8 years and 3 months of imprisonment
Date of birth: 2 November 1993
Date of detention: 15 November 2020
Charges indicted:
Art. 342 of the Criminal Code — Organization and preparation of actions that grossly violate public order, or active participation in them
Art. 356 of the Criminal Code — High treason
Sentence: 8 years and 3 months
Penalty: imprisonment in a medium-security penal colony
Prison sentence start date: 4 October 2022
Judge: Natallia Buhuk, Aleh Kharoshka
Prosecutor: Alina Kasiyanchyk
Prison: Penal colony No. 4
Statement on the status of a political prisoner
Godparent: Delara Burkhardt, member of the European Parliament
Katsiaryna Bakhvalava (Andreyeva) is a Belsat TV journalist, who, together with Darya Chultsova, was targeted in a criminal case of “organizing actions that grossly violate public order” (Article 342 of the Criminal Code) after a live broadcast from the place of the violent police crackdown on a peaceful protest in the Square of Change in Minsk on November 15.
Katsiaryna was initially sentenced to seven days of administrative detention, but was not released and transferred to a pre-trial prison in Žodzina.
On February 18, 2021, Judge Natallia Buhuk of the Frunzienski District Court of Minsk sentenced Andreyeva to 2 years’ imprisonment in a general-security penitentiary.
The journalist was found guilty of "disrupting the work of public transport" while covering the November 15 protest.
On April 23, the Minsk City Court upheld the sentence.
On April 7, 2022, it became known that the journalist was charged with high treason (Part 1 Article 356 of the Criminal Code).
On July 13, 2022, Homieĺ Regional Court pronounced the sentence on the political prisoner. Judge Aleh Kharoshka sentenced Katsiaryna Andreyeva to eight years of imprisonment in a medium-security penal colony. The closed-door trial was held in three sessions. In addition, Katsiaryna still has to serve three months left on her first sentence.
Journalist Katsiaryna Andreyeva sentenced to eight years in prison for high treason