IMS reiterates call for the release of Yulia Slutskaya and Press Club colleagues in Belarus

IMS reiterates its call for the immediate release of Yulia Slutskaya and Press Club colleagues in Belarus as charges are brought forward.

On the 23 December 2020, IMS issued a statement, calling the Belarusian authorities to immediately and unconditionally release the Belarusian Press Club Founder Yulia Slutskaya and her colleagues and cease all attacks, intimidation and harassment of the media in Belarus. On 31 December 2020, Yulia Slutskaya was charged with “large-scale tax evasion,” pursuant Article 243.2 of the Criminal Code of the Republic of Belarus. If convicted, Slutskaya may face up to seven years of imprisonment. She will remain in pre-trial detention until 23 February.

IMS reiterates its call for the immediate release of Press Club Belarus staff and charges to be dropped, equipment and assets safely returned and operations continued. Belarusian journalist and the founder of the Belarus Press Club, Yulia Slutskaya, was detained on 22 December 2020 after she arrived in Minsk from abroad, while several of her colleagues were detained hours later after their homes and offices were searched. Among the detainees were also Press Club Program Director Alla Sharko and Press Club Director Sergei Olshevsky

Press Club Belarus Director Sergei Olshevsky, Program Director Alla Sharko and Slutskaya’s son, Peter Slutsky, who is operator of the club, have all been charged as co-conspirators (Article 16.6 of the Criminal Code) in the commission of a crime under Article 243.2 of the Criminal Code. They, just like Slutskaya, face up to seven years in prison.”

Program Director of the Press Club Academy, Sergei Yakupov, detained on 22 December, was deported to Russia without charge, his lawyer Anton Gashinsky told BelaPAN. He is denied entry to Belarus for 10 years, according to the Press Club Belarus’ official webpage. 

Other employees of the Press Club Belarus detained as part of this criminal case remain in custody, including Sergei Olshevsky, Alla Sharko and Slutskaya’s son, Peter Slutsky. An ex-employee of the Belteleradiocompany, Ksenia Lutskina, associated with a television project on YouTube in which the Belarus Club was involved also remains in custody. Sharko, Olshevsky, Slutsky, Lutskina are all charged as accomplices (Article 16.6 of the Criminal Code) in the commission of a crime under Article 243.2 of the Criminal Code.

“We have seen arrests of critical voices over the holiday season in many authoritarian regimes – an old trick from the dictator’s playbook –  when the West is on holidays and the hope is that the blatant violation goes unnoticed” says IMS Head of Global Response Gulnara Akhundova. “We welcome reactions from Western capitals so far and call for further steps to be taken before it is too late.”

“The case against the Belarusian Press Club is solely about retaliation for their media development work. The authorities should free Yulia Slutskaya and her colleagues immediately”, Akhundova said.

IMS calls for the immediate release of Press Club Belarus staff  and charges to be dropped, equipment and assets safely returned and operations continued.

IMS also demands the immediate release of other journalists who have been detained by the Belarusian authorities. According to the Belarusian Association of Journalists, in 2020, journalists in Belarus spent 1,200 days behind bars. 

Into the new year, journalists in Belarus continue to feel the backlash from government authorities for delivering reliable information. As of 31 December, the following journalists are in jail:

Katsiaryna Barysevich
Katsiaryna Andreyeva
Daria Chultsova
Yulia Slutskaya
Alla Sharko
Siarhei Alsheuski
Peter Slutsky
Ksenia Lutskina