TUT.BY Journalists Face Serious Charges Amid Repressive Measures in Belarus
In a significant development, journalists from TUT.BY, Belarus’ leading independent news outlet, have begun trial proceedings in the capital, Minsk, as the government continues its relentless crackdown on dissenting voices in the country.
The trial commenced on Monday, with editor-in-chief Maryna Zolatava and director general Lyudmila Chekina facing serious charges, including “hurting national security,” “inciting hatred,” and tax evasion. Three other TUT.BY journalists, currently outside the country, are being tried in absentia as part of the same case.
If convicted, the defendants face up to 12 years in prison. The proceedings are taking place behind closed doors at the Minsk City Court, with access denied to Western diplomats and independent journalists. Zolatava and her colleagues have also been designated as “terrorists” by Belarus’s KGB, a nod to the agency’s Soviet-era roots.
The backdrop to this trial is a climate of repression following widespread protests against President Alexander Lukashenko’s disputed re-election in August 2020. These protests, which were met with a brutal crackdown resulting in over 35,000 arrests and numerous beatings by police, have led to the closure of numerous media outlets and NGOs.
TUT.BY was the most popular online news source in Belarus, boasting over 3.3 million users, and it played a critical role in covering the protests before being banned in 2021. Currently, the Belarusian Association of Journalists reports that 32 journalists are imprisoned, awaiting trial, or serving sentences.
In response to the ongoing repression, many former TUT.BY journalists have fled Belarus and launched a new outlet, Zerkalo.io, which has also been blocked within the country. Zerkalo.io condemned the TUT.BY trial as a fabricated case, stating, “The regime fears journalists, fears real news. Belarus is rushing forward on a path to an alternative reality where real news is considered evil.”
