TALLINN, Estonia (AP) — A court in Belarus has convicted a journalist and sentenced him to 3 1/2 years in prison in the latest step against free speech in the country, the Belarusian Association of Journalists reported Thursday. Kiryl Pazniak, 49, who hosted a popular political show on YouTube, has been convicted on the charges of discrediting Belarus and forming an extremist organization, the group said — accusations widely used by authorities to stifle critical voices. Pazniak has also been ordered to pay a fine, roughly equivalent to $8,500. Pazniak was arrested in September 2025. His ex-wife Elena said he has fallen seriously ill behind bars, suffering from pneumonia and COVID-19, and was placed in a prison hospital in serious condition. He has been designated a political prisoner by human rights defenders.Belarus’ authoritarian president, Alexander Lukashenko, has governed the nation of 9.5 million with an iron fist for more than three decades. The country has been sanctioned repeatedly by Western nations — both for its crackdown on human rights and for allowing Moscow to use its territory in the full-scale invasion of Ukraine that began on Feb. 24, 2022.
Lukashenko’s government was challenged after a 2020 presidential election, when hundreds of thousands took to the streets to protest a vote they viewed as rigged. In an ensuing crackdown, tens of thousands were detained, with many beaten by police. Prominent opposition figures fled the country or were imprisoned.
