Belarus court sends reporter to prison over critical coverage of state affairs
A news reporter got prison time in Belarus for her work that didnt please officials. Her articles about government actions led to charges of disrespecting leadership and harming countrys image
The Minsk court handed down a 4-yr prison term to Volha Radzivonava this tuesday; she faced accusations of disrespecting Alexander Lukashenko and damaging Belarus reputation through her reporting
In an example of on-going pressure on independent media Radzivonava (who wrote for KYKY.org news site and did free-lance work) got arrested back in march - sheʼs been behind bars since. The courts decision shows how Belarus deals with critical coverage: journalists face serious trouble for questioning state policies
The charges against the news-writer included what officials call “insulting the president“; this kind of accusation has become common in todays Belarus. Her work focused on covering day-to-day life and government actions in the eastern-european nation which has seen less press freedom lately
