Seviaryn Kviatkouski

Affiliated media: Journalist, Writer

Incident date: February 2, 2022

Attack type:

• Forced emigration as a result of legal / economic pressure

Who attacked: Authorities

Source: Belarusian Association of Journalists

Location: Belarus, Minsk

Additional information:

Journalist and writer Seviaryn Kviatkouski was detained on January 19 when he returned to Belarus after going abroad. Armed police officers broke down the door of his flat. A criminal case was opened against Kviatkouski for reposting a YouTube video «the title of which insulted a policeman from Brest». After his arrest, he was taken to Pinsk for questioning and placed in an isolation ward, where Seviaryn described the conditions of detention as torturous. On January 20, the pro-governmental Telegram channel Yellow Plums published a «repentant» video of the detainee — he says on camera that he «did the wrong thing». Kviatkouski was released on January 22. On February 2, it became known that he had left Belarus.