Aliaksandr Silich

Affiliated media: Belsat, Freelance journalist

Incident date: May 25, 2021

Attack type:

• Non-fatal attack / beating / injury / torture

Who attacked: Authorities

Source: Belarusian Association of Journalists

Location: Belarus, Minsk

Additional information:

Freelance journalist Aliaksandr Silich was detained on the street when he was conducting a video survey of citizens. The police inspected his belongings and, noticing the Pahonia emblem on the cover of his passport, drew up a report under Article 24.23 of the Code of Administrative Offences of the Republic of Belarus (participation in an unauthorised mass event). The journalist was kept in an isolation centre until the trial. On May 24, the court sent the administrative protocol for revision, but the journalist was not released after 72 hours of detention. The policemen took him away from the detention centre on Akrestsina and took him to the Pervomaisky District Police Department, where the journalist spent the night. On May 25, the judge declared Silich guilty and punished him with 10 days of arrest. The conditions of serving the administrative arrest were torturous for Silich.