Alena Tsimashchuk, a journalist from the Belarusian city of Brest, worked for both local and state newspapers. She has been accused of discrediting Belarus, inciting hatred, and participating in an extremist organization.

On June 3, Tsimashchuk was sentenced to five years in a penal colony and fined a financial penalty equivalent to $14,000.

Neither the Belarusian Association of Journalists (BAJ), which monitors repression against media workers, nor the media know the specific reasons for the criminal proceedings against her.

According to information from her acquaintances, she collaborated with various press outlets, including state media, but did not deal with politics.

#Belarus This is the level of delusion and fear of the regime toward the independent press. Freelance journalist Alena Tsimashchuk was sentenced to 5 years in prison and fined 46,000 Belarusian rubles (USD 14,000). Her case was considered by judge Dzmitry Karasinski of the Brest… pic.twitter.com/KnFcY0qOxv

— Hanna Liubakova (@HannaLiubakova) June 10, 2024

The Belarusian regime of Alexander Lukashenko has repeatedly cracked down on independent journalists. According to BAJ, 38 journalists and media workers are currently imprisoned in the country.

This includes Polish-Belarusian journalist Andrzej Poczobut, an activist for the Polish minority in Belarus and a vocal critic of Lukashenko’s regime. Poczobut was detained three years ago on trumped-up charges and is currently serving an eight-year prison sentence.

In addition to journalists, Lukashenko’s regime also holds several thousand political prisoners.