Former head of Intex-Press. Intex-Press was the largest and most successful independent regional media outlet in Belarus, but the authorities crushed it in 2021.
After the authorities liquidated the largest regional publication, Intex-Press, in 2023, Yanukevich and Pokolenko created the regional news portal bar24.by. In December 2024, bar24.by's editorial office and employees' apartments were searched, and some employees were detained.
Yanukevich was sentenced to 14 years in prison and a fine of 135,000 rubles (approximately 40,000 euros), while Pokolenko was sentenced to 12 years in prison and a fine of 45,000 rubles (approximately 13,000 euros). According to the Belarusian Association of Journalists (BAJ ), "there is information about a huge total fine of approximately 200,000 rubles (approximately 60,000 euros)."
After the sentence comes into effect, it is only possible to write letters to a prisoner. According to article 85 of the Penal Enforcement Code, prisoners cannot receive money transfers from persons who are not family members. Parcels are also only possible from relatives. If you want to help, help families directly, if this option is available on the prisoner's card.
Volodymyr Yanukevich, 65, served as director and editor-in-chief of the independent regional newspaper Intex-Press. Andriy Pokolenko, 44, served as deputy development director for the same media outlet. After the newspaper's closure, they created the news website BAR24. The website went down in January 2025.
Vladimir Yanukovych has previously been persecuted . He was twice tried and fined under the Code of Administrative Offenses for publishing an interview with Tikhanovskaya, and in February 2023, security forces raided the premises of Intex-Press Publishing House.
In addition to the imprisonment and a large fine, as reported by the Belarusian Association of Journalists, “there is information about a huge total fine of approximately 200,000 rubles (approximately 60,000 euros).”
Employees of the Baranovichi media outlet BAR24 were detained in December 2024. Law enforcement officers searched their homes and the city portal's editorial office, seizing equipment. Several were released, while the rest faced criminal charges.
After the sentence comes into effect, it is only possible to write letters to a prisoner. According to article 85 of the Penal Enforcement Code, prisoners cannot receive money transfers from persons who are not family members. Parcels are also only possible from relatives. If you want to help, help families directly, if this option is available on the prisoner's card.
He was arrested on April 27, 2022. On April 29, he was sentenced to 10 days in jail.
About a week after the journalist's arrest, a video fragment from his interrogation appeared on pro-government Telegram channels, along with information about the reason for Gontarevich's arrest: he allegedly photographed Russian military equipment and sent the images to media outlets deemed extremist by the Belarusian authorities.
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