The criminal case against the journalist Iryna Slaunikava has been passed to the Homiel Regional Court. The case may be heard behind closed doors.
The date of the trial has not been set yet.
It’s still unknown why the case will be heard in Homiel. Iryna Slaunikava lived in Minsk. She was detained at Minsk airport and kept in Minsk SIZO #1 during the investigation.
Earlier, the Homiel Regional Court received a new criminal case against journalist Katsiaryna Andreyeva.
Iryna Slaunikava is charged under two articles of the Criminal Code: organization of group actions that grossly violate public order or participation in them (Part 1 Article 342) and the creation of an extremist formation (Part 1 Article 361-1). The latter article provides for up to seven years in prison.
The Investigative Committee claims that during the investigation of the criminal case, they received evidence that Slaunikava was the head of Belsat, which is recognized as an extremist formation in Belarus.
Iryna Slaunikava and her husband Aliaksandr Loyka were detained at Minsk airport on October 30, 2021, returning to Belarus from their vacation. At the time of Slavnikova’s detention, Belsat was not recognized as an extremist formation. This decision was made on November 3, 2021.
Slaunikava’s relatives pointed out that at the moment of her detention, the journalist had not been cooperating with Belsat for a long time but was a staff member of the Polish TV channel TVP.
