Aliaksandr Burakou

Affiliated media: Deutsche Welle, Freelance journalist

Incident date: May 12, 2021

Attack type:

• Non-fatal attack / beating / injury / torture

Who attacked: Authorities

Source: Belarusian Association of Journalists

Location: Belarus, Mahiliou

Additional information:

Aliaksandr Burakou was detained by law enforcers near the regional court building, 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 Police Department 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 Leninski District Court of Mahiliou declared the journalist guilty and arrested him for 20 days. At the court hearing, Burakou said that he was subjected to torture and inhuman treatment: he was not allowed to sleep normally for several nights, was regularly checked and stripped naked in the corridor, and was not handed over the parcels that Burakou’s relatives had brought to the detention center.