In 2020, a criminal case was opened against Yan, the editor of the NEXTA Telegram channels, under a number of articles, including "organizing mass riots" and "inciting hatred." As part of the special proceedings, in May 2023, he was convicted in absentia and sentenced to a long term of imprisonment in a maximum security penal colony. According to the Belarusian state news agency BelTA, the defendants in the "case" are accused of committing at least 1,586 crimes, and a claim for more than 30 million rubles has been filed.
Earlier, the KGB included Yan on the “terrorist list”, and the NEXTA channel in Belarus was recognized as a “terrorist organization”.
