Former employees of a newspaper closed by the authorities were detained in Belarus

In the city of Baranovichi in the Brest region of Belarus, security forces detained seven former employees of the newspaper Intex-press, closed by the authorities, the human rights center «Vyasna» reports. According to human rights activists, they are charged with Article 361-4 of the Criminal Code (facilitation of extremist activity).

The editorial staff of Intex-press came under pressure after the 2020 presidential election. In April 2021, the publication published an interview with former presidential candidate and leader of the Belarusian Democratic Forces Svetlana Tikhanovskaya. Two weeks later, Belposhta refused to include the weekly in its subscription catalog for the second half of 2021.

In 2022, Intex-press was deprived of state registration, and in April 2023, the publication's website and social networks were recognized as “extremist materials”.

In July 2022, a court in Belarus sentenced Intex-press journalist Yuriy Gontsarevich to two and a half years in a general regime colony. He was accused of promoting extremist activities. In early March, according to the investigation, Gontsarevich sent photos of «military aircraft located on the territory of the airfield of the 61st fighter air base, stationed in Baranovichi, in the Telegram bot of the Belarusian service of Radio Liberty, with the caption «airfield in Baranovichi».