Belarusian court sentences 2 journalists to 14, 12 years in prison, heavy fines

New York, March 3, 2026—Belarusian authorities should immediately release journalists Uladzimir Yanukevich and Andrei Pakalenka, and stop jailing journalists for their work, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Tuesday.

On February 26, a court in the southwestern city of Brest convicted 66-year-old Yanukevich and 44-year-old Pakalenka on treason charges, and sentenced them to 14 and 12 years’ imprisonment respectively, according to the Belarusian Association of Journalists (BAJ), an exiled advocacy and trade group. 

Their trial, held behind closed doors, started on February 3. There has been no explanation for the charges.

“CPJ is deeply shocked by the 14- and 12-year prison sentences imposed on Uladzimir Yanukevich and Andrei Pakalenka,” said Anna Brakha, CPJ’s Europe and Central Asia senior researcher. “This verdict is designed to perpetuate the climate of terror surrounding independent media in the country. Authorities should immediately release Yanukevich and Pakalenka, along with all imprisoned journalists.”

The court also fined Yanukevich 135,000 Belarusian rubles (US$47,000) and Pakalenka 45,000 Belarusian rubles (US$16,000). An additional 200,000 rubles (US$69,100) is being sought from them as compensation for alleged damage inflicted on the country, according to BAJ. 

“As if depriving [Yanukevich and Pakalenka] of their freedom wasn’t enough, they’re also ruining them financially,” a source close to the case told CPJ under condition of anonymity, for fear of reprisal.

Yanukevich was the director and editor-in-chief of Intex-Press, and Pakalenka, the deputy director for development of the shuttered independent outlet. 

Belarusian authorities have been harassing former staffers at Intex-Press, an independent regional newspaper covering the western city of Baranavichy, and its journalists for years. In July 2022, Intex-Press journalist Yury Hantsarevich was sentenced to two years and six months in prison on charges of facilitating extremist activities. After Intex-Press was stripped of its registration in 2022, Baranavichy police raided Intex-Press’s office in February 2023. They seized laptops, computers, and a camera. In April 2023, a Belarusian court deemed Intex-Press’s website and social media pages “extremist materials.” 

Six of the outlet’s journalists, including Yanukevich and Pakalenka, who had since created independent news website BAR24, were detained in early December 2024. In August 2025, Natallia Semianovich, Mikita Piatrouski, Ruslan Raviaka, and Ludmila Zeliankova were sentenced to years of house arrest on charges of “promoting extremist activity.” 

CPJ emailed the Belarusian Investigative Committee, the law enforcement agency in charge of pretrial proceedings, for comment on Yanukevich and Pakalenka’s case but did not receive a reply.

At least 26 journalists are currently behind bars in Belarus.