25 books confiscated from journalist Dzianis Ivashyn ordered destroyed
When journalist Dzianis Ivashyn was arrested on March 12, 2021, his home was searched by KGB agents. As a result, several dozen books were confiscated. Today it became known that the court ordered the destruction of 25 titles.
“It is the 21st century, we are in the center of Europe, why not start burning books! How ignorant must one be to declare a dictionary of military terminology ‘dangerous for the public’ or ‘extremist,’” commented the wife of a political prisoner, Volha Ivashyna, on the court’s decision.
Among the titles to be destroyed are books on Belarusian nationalist and democratic movements, anti-Bolshevik uprisings in Belarus, hybrid warfare, Russian invasion of Ukraine, and others.
Dzianis Ivashyn is 42 years old and married. He is an economist and political scientist. He worked as a journalist for the independent newspaper Novy Chas and the international community InformNapalm, which studies the impact of Russian aggression on other countries. He is known for his publications on the scandalous construction in Kurapaty, for which he and Novy Chas were sued by the developer, and on the influence of the “Russian world” on Belarus and Syria.
The journalist was arrested in March 2021 and charged with “high treason”. He was sentenced to 13 years and one month of imprisonment and a huge fine for “high treason” and “illegal collection and distribution of information about a private life”. His correspondence with the outside world is hindered and many letters do not reach him. According to the latest information from his family, the journalist may have been placed in a secure housing unit.
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