New York, June 26, 2026—The Committee to Protect Journalists condemns the June 26
sentencing
of Belarusian journalist
Kyril Pazniak
to three years and six months in
prison
, and calls on Belarusian authorities to release him immediately.
The court in Minsk, the capital,
convicted
Pazniak on charges of creating an extremist group and discrediting Belarus. The court also
fined
Pazniak 24,750 Belarusian rubles (US$8,530).
The charges against Pazniak are connected to his work for the
YouTube channel Platform 375
, which has covered politics and economy in Belarus. Pazniak
hosted
discussions between the government and opposition supporters until
2022
.
“The three-and-a-half-year prison sentence given to journalist Kyril Pazniak shows that Belarusian authorities remain unforgiving of those who independently covered the aftermath of the 2020 protests that swept the country following the disputed re-election of President Aleksandr Lukashenko,” said Gulnoza Said, CPJ’s Europe and Central Asia program coordinator. “The authorities should immediately release Pazniak, as well as all imprisoned journalists.”
Pazniak was
detained
in Minsk on September 3, 2025. The
next day
, Belarusian authorities
designated
Platform 375 as extremist.
“The verdict has no reasoned legal grounds and is evidence that there is no place for a free press in any form in Belarus today,” Siarzhuk Herasimovich, one of the founders of Platform 375,
told
Belsat TV.
Pazniak’s daughter Yanina, who was
detained
on September 4, 2025, was sentenced on Friday as well, but her prison sentence and fine on similar charges was unknown. State prosecutors had requested three years in prison, reported Poland-based Belarusian broadcaster
Belsat TV
. According to the outlet, the charges against her stem from the sole fact that she registered Platform 375 on TikTok.
The trial of Pazniak and his daughter was scheduled to start in Minsk on May 14, but was
postponed
to June 17 bec
… [more]
