Belarus court gives another journalist a lengthy prison term

By YURAS KARMANAU
Associated Press

TALINN, Estonia (AP) — A court in Belarus has sentenced yet another independent journalist to a lengthy prison term. The move is part of a continued government crackdown on opposition activists, critical media and independent reporters. Iryna Slaunikava, 52-year-old journalist with the Poland-based TV channel Belsat, was convicted of forming an extremist organization and participating in protests. She was sentenced to five years in prison. Belarusian authorities have conducted a relentless, multi-pronged crackdown on dissent following the massive anti-government protests that erupted after President Alexander Lukashenko was handed a sixth term after an August 2020 presidential vote that was denounced as rigged by the opposition and the West.