International journalist organizations call for release of Andrei Hniot
Media Freedom Rapid Response partner organizations have called on Serbian authorities to release Belarusian activist and journalist Andrei Hniot.
Hniot now faces deportation from Serbia to Belarus on politically motivated charges. His health has deteriorated significantly in prison in Belgrade.
The appeal to the Serbian authorities was signed by the International Press Institute, the European Center for Press and Media Freedom, the European Federation of Journalists, and other international partner organizations of Media Freedom Rapid Response.
Media Freedom Rapid Response (MFRR) monitors and responds to press and media freedom violations in EU member states and candidate countries. The project provides information, and legal and practical support to journalists and media professionals. It was launched in 2020 and is funded by the European Commission.
The BelPol association, representing former Belarusian law enforcers, has confirmed that Andrei Hniot, a 41-year-old filmmaker, was detained by the Serbian Border Guard on October 30, 2023, upon arrival in Belgrade. He was subsequently handed over to the police.
The reason for detention is the individual’s inclusion on the international wanted list at the request of the Belarusian Interpol Bureau on September 21, 2023. The agency asks to extradite Hniot to Belarus for criminal prosecution.
On February 29, the Viasna Human Rights Center announced that Interpol had blocked Hniot’s data, citing the need to verify the grounds for which the Belarusian authorities had declared him wanted. The director’s legal counsel maintains that the accused is being prosecuted for political, not economic, reasons, as asserted by the government of Minsk.
On March 12, the Court of Appeal in Belgrade overturned the decision to extradite Hniot to Belarus. The case was remanded for reconsideration.
Andrei Hniot is a director of TV commercials and music videos and a journalist. He was engaged in video production for the association SOS.by, which has been designated as an “extremist formation” in Belarus. According to MFRS, he worked as a freelancer for the independent TV channel “Present Time”, which is part of the Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty media group.