Uladzimir Laptsevich

Affiliated media: Mahiliousky Rehiyon (6ТV.by) , Journalist

Incident date: May 15, 2021

Attack type:

• Court trial

Who attacked: Authorities

Source: Belarusian Association of Journalists

Location: Belarus, Mahiliou

Additional information:

Journalist Uladzimir Laptsevich was detained by law enforcers near the building of the regional court, where the closed criminal trial of political activists and bloggers started that day. The journalist was preparing a story about this event. He was taken to the Leninsky District Department of Internal Affairs and charged with repeated participation in an unauthorised event within a year (Part 3 of Article 24.23 of the Code of Administrative Offences of the Republic of Belarus). He was held in the temporary detention centre until the trial. On May 15, the judge of the Leninsky District Court of Mahiliou found Laptsevich guilty and arrested him for 20 days. Uladzimir felt very badly because of high blood pressure, and medics were called to him. He also stated about the torture that was applied to him in the detention centre and about the illegal detention and keeping him behind bars. The journalist went on hunger strike until the trial as a sign of protest.