Katsiaryna Barysevich
tut.by journalist, sentenced to 6 months in prison, released
Date of birth: 2 April 1984
Date of detention: 19 November 2020
Charges indicted:
Art. 178 of the Criminal Code — Disclosure of medical confidentiality
Sentence: 6 months
Penalty: imprisonment in a general-security penal colony
Date of release: 19 May 2021
Judge: Sviatlana Bandarenka
Katsiaryna Barysevich is a TUT.BY reporter arrested on November 19, 2020, on suspicion of alleged disclosure of a medical secret of Raman Bandarenka, who was beaten to death on November 11 (Part 3, Article 178 of the Criminal Code). In a piece she authored, she cited the doctor’s words alleging absence of alcohol in Raman’s blood, which contradicted the official statements earlier voiced by the authorities.
Barysevich was initially held in the KGB pre-trial prison in Minsk.
On March 2, 2021, Judge Sviatlana Bandarenka of the Maskoŭski District Court of Minsk sentenced Barysevich to six months in prison and fined her 2,900 rubles. With over three months spent in pre-trial detention, Barysevich was ordered to serve ten weeks.
On April 20, the Minsk City Court upheld the sentence.
The journalist was released on May 19, 2021.