Belarus: Journalist Anastasia Sharkevich Detained For “Promoting Destructive Content” – CFWIJ Calls For Her Release
Location: Belarus, Minsk
Date: February 6, 2023
Belarusian journalist Anastasia Sharkevich was detained by police. CFWIJ is alarmed at the video of her apparently “repenting” for her actions. The Belarusian government should stop harassing and retaliating against journalists.
On Monday, February 6, Anastasia Sharkevich, social media manager of independent news outlet Narodnaya Volya, appeared in a video published by a pro-government Telegram channel. In the video, she claimed she was detained for attending a protest and allegedly promoting “destructive content” online.
According to Zerkalo, in the “repentant” video, she said, “I work for the Narodnaya Volya newspaper, and also administer the Telegram channel Narodnaya Volya. I went to marches several times, and on this occasion, I was detained by police officers.”
The journalist was charged with distributing extremist content, her home was raided by police and she spent 13 days in detention.
Sharkevich was also detained in October 2020. She was taken to a police department where she said police put “light moral pressure” on her. Her apartment was searched, and her electronic devices were also seized. She was released without charge.
Anastasia Sharkevich previously worked at the Belteleradiocompany, on the STV and Mir TV channels, and got a job at the Narodnaya Volya newspaper after the presidential elections in Belarus.
Narodnaya Volya's website was blocked in mid-August 2022, editors lost access to the site and it couldn’t be viewed from Belarus or abroad. In December 2022, the Belarus Ministry of Information unblocked the website. Narodnaya Volya is one of the oldest independent publications in Belarus. It has been under pressure from state authorities since 2020 when The Belarusian Press House refused to print the newspaper. The paper eventually stopped printing and now publishes in electronic form.
Journalists in Belarus are under severe pressure from state authorities since anti-government protests in 2020. The Belarusian state continues to harass, detain, and intimidate journalists. In January 2023, journalist Yekaterina Yanshina was detained for fifteen days for reporting on a court case in Minsk. The Coalition For Women In Journalism demands the unconditional release of all journalists and an immediate end to the crackdown on free press.
The Coalition For Women In Journalism is a global organization of support for women journalists. The CFWIJ pioneered mentorship for mid-career women journalists across several countries around the world and is the first organization to focus on the status of free press for women journalists. We thoroughly document cases of any form of abuse against women in any part of the globe. Our system of individuals and organizations brings together the experience and mentorship necessary to help female career journalists navigate the industry. Our goal is to help develop a strong mechanism where women journalists can work safely and thrive.
If you have been harassed or abused in any way, and please report the incident by using the following form.