Katsiaryna Bakhvalava

journalist, sentenced to 8 years and 3 months of imprisonment

Prisoner

Date of birth: 2 November 1993

Date of detention: 15 November 2020

Charges indicted:

  • Art. 342 of the Criminal Code — Organization and preparation of actions that grossly violate public order, or active participation in them
  • Art. 356 of the Criminal Code — High treason

Sentence: 8 years and 3 months

Penalty: imprisonment in a medium-security penal colony

Prison sentence start date: 4 October 2022

Judge: Natallia Buhuk, Aleh Kharoshka

Prosecutor: Alina Kasiyanchyk

Prison: Penal colony No. 4

Groups: Journalists

Cases: Protests in Minsk

Godparent: Delara Burkhardt, member of the European Parliament

Katsiaryna Bakhvalava

Katsiaryna Bakhvalava (Andreyeva) is a Belsat TV journalist, who, together with Darya Chultsova, was targeted in a criminal case of “organizing actions that grossly violate public order” (Article 342 of the Criminal Code) after a live broadcast from the place of the violent police crackdown on a peaceful protest in the Square of Change in Minsk on November 15.

Katsiaryna was initially sentenced to seven days of administrative detention, but was not released and transferred to a pre-trial prison in Žodzina.

On February 18, 2021, Judge Natallia Buhuk of the Frunzienski District Court of Minsk sentenced Andreyeva to 2 years’ imprisonment in a general-security penitentiary.

The journalist was found guilty of "disrupting the work of public transport" while covering the November 15 protest.

On April 23, the Minsk City Court upheld the sentence.

On April 7, 2022, it became known that the journalist was charged with high treason (Part 1 Article 356 of the Criminal Code).

On July 13, 2022, Homieĺ Regional Court pronounced the sentence on the political prisoner. Judge Aleh Kharoshka sentenced Katsiaryna Andreyeva to eight years of imprisonment in a medium-security penal colony. The closed-door trial was held in three sessions. In addition, Katsiaryna still has to serve three months left on her first sentence.

Journalist Katsiaryna Andreyeva sentenced to eight years in prison for high treason

On July 13, 2022, Homieĺ Regional Court pronounced the sentence on a political prisoner, a journalist for the Belsat TV channel Katsiaryna Andreyeva. Katsiaryna was previously convicted to two years of imprisonment for a live broadcast from the place of the violent police crackdown on a peaceful protest in the ‘Square of Changes’ in Minsk on November 15, 2020. This time she was convicted under Part 1 of Article 356 of the Criminal Code for high treason.

 

Mail address: Penal colony No. 4. 246035, Homieĺ, vulica Antoshkina 3

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