Newspaper editor arrested in Belarus for discrediting authorities

This is reported by the Prosecutor General's Office of the country.

A criminal case was opened against the editor of the newspaper. As the investigation found, being the editor of the publication, the accused "in the period from January 1, 2020 to March 15, 2023, spread deliberately false information in the print edition and its Internet resources discrediting Belarus and its authoritie".

According to investigators, the newspaper published unreliable information in order to cause significant damage to state and public interests, undermine the authority of the country, damage its national interests, as well as destabilize the situation in society and form false ideas among residents of the country that the rights and freedoms of residents of Belarus are not respected in the country.

The court of the Molodechno district recognized the materials distributed by the publication as extremist.

Now the editor faces imprisonment for up to four years.

The Belarusian Association of Journalists noted that the arrested person is the editor-in-chief of the Regional Newspaper Alexander Mantsevich. The newspaper headed by him has been published since 1995. In July 2021, the newspaper ceased to be published in paper form. In January last year, the products produced by the publication were recognized as extremist.