Imprisoned videographer Yauhen Hlushkou recognized as political prisoner

“Out-of-court, the Inte­ri­or Min­istry and the KGB arbi­trar­i­ly rec­og­nize as extrem­ist cit­i­zens’ groups brought togeth­er by pub­lic or polit­i­cal inter­ests that crit­i­cize the actions of the author­i­ties and demand reforms in the state and its poli­cies. Sev­er­al media resources were rec­og­nized as extrem­ist for­ma­tions as well. This in turn paves the way for the arbi­trary pros­e­cu­tion and impris­on­ment of their mem­bers and sources as a dis­pro­por­tion­ate mea­sure restrict­ing the right to asso­ci­a­tion and free­dom of expres­sion,” the human rights defend­ers expressed their con­cern in the state­ment.

Yauhen Hlushk­ou, a free­lance video­g­ra­ph­er from Mahilou, was arrest­ed in ear­ly Jan­u­ary and charged with par­tic­i­pat­ing in an “extrem­ist for­ma­tion.” Eye­wit­ness­es report­ed a bru­tal arrest involv­ing phys­i­cal force. Hlushk­ou was not even allowed to put on out­er­wear and was forced into a patrol car. He now stays in cus­tody jail.

The video­g­ra­ph­er worked at Mahilou City TV for many years. In the ear­ly 2000s, he free­lanced with var­i­ous media out­lets. Recent­ly, he lived alone and led a seclud­ed lifestyle, avoid­ing pub­lic activ­i­ties.

Read more:

Freelance videographer Yauhen Hlushkou in custody over participating in ‘extremist formation’

Journalist Siarhei Hardziyevich released from detention

E‑NEWSLETTER: MASS MEDIA IN BELARUS IN 2023