Former political prisoner Andrei Aliaksandrau receives international award
Media manager and former political prisoner Andrei Aliaksandrau received the Free Media Awards 2026. The award was presented to him at a ceremony at the Munch Museum in Oslo, reports the publication "Pozirk".
During his speech, Aliaksandrau reminded that independent journalism is effectively being squeezed out of Belarus. Belarusian journalists face repression: some of them end up behind bars, others are forced to work in exile.
Andrei Aliaksandrau noted that independent media continue their work because free speech is vital for society. According to him, the task of journalists is to collect and verify facts, distinguish them from propaganda, and help people receive objective information.
Accepting the award, he dedicated it to his colleagues who continue their journalistic work in exile or are in captivity. Aliaksandrau also reminded that 15 representatives of the media sphere still remain behind bars in Belarus.
The announcement that Aliaksandrau was a laureate of the Free Media Awards 2026 became known on September 4, when he himself was still behind bars. The organizers of the award — Fritt Ord and Zeit Stiftung Bucerius Foundations — emphasized that through his previous work at BelaPAN and the Belarusian Association of Journalists, he "helped strengthen professional journalistic standards, support independent media, and build international networks of journalists and human rights defenders."
Along with Aliaksandrau, the head of the investigative journalism department of the publication "Ukrainska Pravda" Mykhailo Tkach (in a personal capacity), the editorial boards of the Georgian publication iFact, the Armenian TV channel Factor TV, and the Russian independent publication "Verstka" were honored with the award.
Belarusian journalists regularly become laureates of the award. In 2021, all Free Media Awards were presented solely to representatives of Belarus as a sign of solidarity with the crushed independent media. At that time, the laureates were the portal tut.by, the Belarusian Association of Journalists, Katsiaryna Barysevich, Natallia Lubneuskaya, Darya Chultsova, and Katsiaryna Andreeva.
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