Aliaksei Batsiukou

Affiliated media: Mahiliou Media, Journalist, Blogger

Incident date: December 5, 2023

Attack type:

• Damage to / seizure of residence / work premises

Who attacked: Authorities

Source: Belarusian Association of Journalists

Location: Belarus, Mahiliou

Additional information:

The law enforcers broke down the door to the flat of the journalist of Mahiliou Media Aliaksei Batsiukou. They threw Batsiukou to the floor, put his hands behind his head, and stepped on his back. As a result of the search, a laptop, two smartphones, and flash cards were seized. After the search, the journalist was taken for interrogation to the Mahiliou regional KGB department. Then, the journalist was taken to the Leninski District Police Department, where the police drew up a report on him under Article 19.11 of the Code of Administrative Offences of the Republic of Belarus — for reposting on Facebook from an Internet resource declared «extremist». Aliaksei claims that he deleted the link using his phone, but the KGB officers managed to restore it. Batsiukou was held in the detention center for a night until the trial.