Dissident Journalist Sentenced to 8 Years Imprisonment in Belarus
A Court in the western city of Grodno convicted the journalist of spreading hatred
TALLINN: A court in Belarus has convicted a dissident journalist of conspiring to spread unrest and seize power. It was claimed that the journalist promoted "subversive content" online and called for blocking traffic at the protests and flagrant violation of public order and illegal actions.
On Wednesday, a court in the western city of Grodno convicted the journalist of spreading hatred and "calling for sanctions" and sentenced him to eight years in prison.
The court sentenced Roman Pratasevich to 8 years in prison. Pratasevich and his Russian female friend were arrested in May 2021 after their Ryanair flight to Lithuania in Greece was ordered to land in Minsk, the capital of Belarus.