Belarus journalist Katsiaryna Barysevich is currently in court over reporting a victim’s death in the protests against authoritarian President Alexander Lukashenko. The authorities claim the victim, Raman Bandarenka, was taken into police custody drunk and disorderly. Barysevich’s report, however, contained medical documents proving he died of brain and other injuries with no alcohol in his system. The government, in turn, is trying to convict the journalist of revealing personal data, despite, according to the Associated Press, the victim’s “mother [asking] Barysevich to reveal the information about her son’s condition.” If convicted, she will face up to three years in prison. This case follows numerous similar cases of journalists, activists, and lawyers in Belarus being convicted after supporting the opposition to the president’s reign.
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