Zolatava: In September 2020, I thought it would last a maximum of a year

Six years after protests in Belarus: free press outlawed, 20 media representatives in prison

"At most, it will last another year. It's impossible to build North Korea in the center of Europe in the 21st century," I mused as Tut.by journalist Katya Barysevich and I sat in a car late at night in September 2020 near the police station building, where our detained colleagues had been brought.

A Tut.by reader had lent us the car – he wanted to support us and our journalists.

Just two months later, Katya would be detained and sentenced to six months in a penal colony. For an article in which she wrote that Raman Bandarenka, a Minsk resident beaten by pro-government activists and who died in hospital, was sober, contrary to Lukashenka's statement.

Nine months remained until the crackdown on Tut.by and our detention.

Then, already facing unprecedented repression in the history of independent Belarus, we still could not imagine what awaited us.

Independent Belarusian media declared "extremist formations"

It turned out that it is possible to clear the information space without shutting down the internet. It is enough to simply declare all independent media as extremist organizations and introduce administrative or criminal liability for any interaction with them.

For subscribing to an "extremist" public page or forwarding a link from it containing the most harmless content, such as a weather forecast, one can receive 15 days of arrest. And if you give an interview to such media or it turns out that you work or once worked for it, even when it was not yet "extremist," you will get a real sentence – three or four years.

Don't believe it? Four people passed through my unit in the colony for this alone between 2023 and 2025. And that's not counting me.

Could we, whose youth coincided with the first years of independent Belarus, imagine that the sentences for dissidents of the "developed socialism" era would seem mild to us compared to the 10, 11, 12, 14, and 15 years generously handed out by judges to women after the events of 2020?

These are sentences from the 1930s – the era of the Great Terror.

Yes, we were not exiled to Siberia, we did not build our own camps in the steppe, we did not fell forests at minus 50 degrees. Perhaps we should thank Lukashenka for this? Or perhaps the problem is simply that Belarus has no steppes and no Siberia?

Free, but not home

Since December 2025, thanks primarily to American efforts, I am free. More precisely: free, but not home.

Now we can only have two options: "home, but not free" and "free, but not home."

Through Ukraine, our group of political prisoners was taken from Belarusian colonies to the territory of the European Union, and I have already received international protection in Poland. My family is with me, and it seems I should be happy? No.

No. Because my colleague Liudmila Chekina, General Director of Tut.by, is still in the penal colony. She has already celebrated six birthdays behind bars. Liudmila holds strong and, I am sure, radiates optimism. But I know how difficult it is for her.

No. Because Belarusian journalists continue to receive long sentences.

Here is the "harvest" of 2026. Media managers of the legendary regional publication Intex-press, Uladzimir Yanukevich and Andrei Pakalenka, were sentenced to 14 and 11 years in prison, respectively. Uladzimir Yanukevich is 65 years old!

Pavel Dabravolski was sentenced to 9 years. Journalist Kiryl Pazniak and his 20-year-old daughter Yanina received three and a half years each.

In March, Katsiaryna Bakhvalava (Andreyeva) was released after five and a half years behind bars, but her husband, journalist Ihar Illiash, was sentenced to 4 years in a penal colony last autumn.

In total, 21 media representatives are currently behind bars in Belarus.

No. Because the repressions do not stop.

As a result of negotiations with the Americans, the Belarusian authorities released (or forcibly deported abroad) over 500 people during the year, including well-known politicians and public activists. However, new people continue to be sent behind bars.

The last mass release occurred in March 2026. On April 28, journalist Andrzej Poczobut was released from prison.

According to human rights defenders, as of late July 2026, at least 883 political prisoners remain in prison. Among them are many people with serious health problems, elderly people. Many have already spent five, or even six years, behind bars.

No. Because the profession of a journalist is practically forbidden in Belarus.

It sounds unbelievable: to continue covering events in the country, my colleagues were forced to leave the country. They are deprived of the opportunity to report from the scene of events. They cannot record interviews with heroes who are in Belarus. I'm not even talking about participating in official press events.

Journalists cannot even sign their articles with their real names. Most independent media in Belarus are recognized as extremist formations, which means that any cooperation with them threatens people with criminal liability.

Nevertheless, colleagues remain true to their cause, and this, of course, inspires respect and admiration.

Belarusian journalists have been forced to change their approaches to work. Many interesting investigative and analytical projects have emerged. Being abroad, it is difficult to keep a finger on the pulse of Belarusian events, but it seems my colleagues succeed.

August 2020 – a fateful month for Belarus

Six years ago, fateful events took place in Belarus.

At the start of a unique electoral campaign in the country's history, the authorities detained two of Alyaksandr Lukashenka's most serious opponents – Viktar Babaryka and Syarhei Tsikhanouski (the first received 14 years in prison and was removed from the country in December 2025, the second – 18 years and was removed in June 2025).

Instead of Tsikhanouski, his wife Sviatlana resolutely entered the struggle and registered as a presidential candidate. Together with Maryia Kalesnikava and Veranika Tsapkala, they created a unique female trio, whose meetings gathered thousands of people even in the smallest and most apolitical towns.

Never before had the people of Belarus been so inspired and involved in an election campaign.

Alyaksandr Lukashenka traditionally resorted to gross falsifications, which in the digital age were impossible to hide and about which we at the Tut.by editorial office received numerous testimonies.

Outraged voters took to the streets in protest and were met with unprecedented violence from the police.

Violence and repression continue to this day. That is why hundreds of thousands of Belarusians have been forced to leave their country.

Now many are disappointed and believe they have lost. I don't think so: 2020 showed the maturity of the Belarusian people, their independence, their readiness to resolutely defend their choice and assert their rights through legal means.

But today, Belarusians on both sides of the border are going through difficult times.

On the anniversary of these important events, I want to address colleagues around the world.

Please, do not forget about Belarus. We exist. There are 9 million of us. And Belarus is not Lukashenka. Hear our voice.

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