Belarus: Yuliya Mudreuskaya Sentenced to 1.5 Years in Penal Colony For ‘Attending’ Protests
The Coalition For Women In Journalism strongly condemns the unjust sentencing and demands her immediate release
Location: Belarus, Minsk
Date: January 18, 2023
Yuliya Mudreuskaya becomes the latest Belarussian journalist to receive an absurd sentence from the authoritarian state. Since protests against Lukashenko erupted in 2020, The Coalition For Women In Journalism has monitored and been alarmed by the continuous attempts to eradicate free press in the country. We demand the immediate release of Mudreuskaya and the seven other women journalists imprisoned in Belarus.
On January 18, Yuliya Mudreuskaya was found guilty of "group actions grossly violating public order" and sentenced to 18 months in a penal colony. She was prosecuted for her alleged participation in the 2020 protests.
Mudreuskaya’s trial began on September 19, 2022, at the Frunzienski District Court of Minsk. She was tried and sentenced by Judge Alena Bushava. Despite the journalist's appeal, the verdict was upheld.
In July 2022, human rights groups in Belarus announced that 16 people – including Mudreuskaya - were being charged under Article 342 of the Criminal Code for participating in protests.
Local organizations note that the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights upholds the right to freedom of peaceful assembly. They consider those being charged as political prisoners who should be immediately released.
Detention of ABW.by journalists
Mudreuskaya - editor of Avtobiznes (ABW.by) – was first detained on June 16, 2022, alongside her colleagues Yury Hladchuk, the outlet’s branded content editor, and journalist Vadzim Ziankevich.
ABW.by is an online outlet that reports on automobile technology news.
A few days after their detention, a pro-government Telegram channel, Center E, published “confession” videos of the journalists.
In the videos, ABW.by journalists confessed to “lying,” “disinformation,” and blocking pro-government news from their site. Mudreuskaya stated she took part in protests in August and September 2020.
Criminal cases were opened against Mudreuskaya and Hladchuk. Both were placed in a pre-trial detention center. ABW.by editor-in-chief Vadzim Ziankevich was released.
Forced video confessions
Since the 2020 post-election protests in Belarus, videotaped confessions have become a common political tool, used by the state to pressure opposition figures into humiliating themselves in public recordings that are then used in criminal investigations.
Before the detention of Mudreuskaya and her colleagues, forced video confessions were mainly used to implicate opposition supporters and activists. The recent trend indicates that the authorities in Belarus have launched a "moral" campaign against the remaining independent media outlets in the country.
"It's become widespread now," said Valentin Stefanovich of the Viasna human rights center, adding that in many cases, the fact that people were tortured before giving the confessions was not even concealed.
In Belarus, the videos are used to justify arrests and detentions and to turn public opinion against the protest movement.
The Telegram channel - known as "Centre E" – that released the video of the ABW.by journalists claims to be run by the Directorate for Combatting Extremism, a state agency notorious for apprehending opposition figures like Raman Pratasevich.
Pratasevich, a journalist, was detained on May 25, 2021, after his plane was hijacked at Lukashenko's request and was coerced into making televised confessions.
8 women journalists imprisoned in Belarus
In 2020 mass protests broke out in Belarus following a public outcry after a presidential election that saw Alexander Lukashenko retain power despite election results being deemed illegitimate.
Since, the Belarussian government continues to employ various tactics to control political resistance and independent journalism, including threats against family members, arbitrary detentions, and lengthy prison sentences based on flimsy charges of promoting extremism or participating in protests.
There are currently eight women journalists – including Yuliya Mudreuskaya – imprisoned in Belarus. In March 2023, Maryna Zolatava and Lyudmila Chekina, journalists for independent outlet TUT.by, were sentenced to 12 years. Katsiaryna Andreyeva, who filmed an anti-Lukashenko protest in November 2020, received a ten-year and three-month prison sentence, while her colleague Ksenia Lutskina is currently serving an eight-year sentence.
The Coalition For Women In Journalism is increasingly appalled by the Belarussian’s targeting of journalists and activists. Since protests in 2020, Lukashenko has used all the power to intimidate independent journalism. Through harsh sentencing and lengthy pretrial detentions, the Belarussian security apparatus continues to smother any semblance of media freedom in the country. We strongly condemn the imprisonment of Yuliya Mudreuskaya and her fellow women journalists and demand their immediate and unconditional release.
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.
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