"On the third day, I'm already at home and I want to say a big thank you to everyone who wrote to me and didn't forget me.

Thanks to everyone who is writing now, sorry if I can't reply to anyone.

It is, however, very difficult.

Just want to say thank you to everyone.

I still cannot believe what is happening and what is happening to Katya.

I hope it will be over soon though.

You are incredible people.

Just so much support... I never thought that I would ever have such support in my life.

Thank you all very much!"

Belsat journalists

and

were detained on November 15, 2020, during a live broadcast from the commemoration of the deceased Belarusian activist Roman Bandarenka.

According to the version of the investigation, the traffic of 13 bus routes, three trolleybus and three tram routes was stopped due to the stream that the journalists conducted from one of the neighboring high-rise buildings.

The journalist was sentenced to 2 years of imprisonment on the charge of "organizing and preparing actions that grossly violate public order, or active participation in them."

In April 2022, it became known that a new criminal case was opened against Ekaterina Andreeva under the article "Treason to the State".

On July 13, she was sentenced to 8 years and 3 months of imprisonment, taking into account the punishment previously assigned by the court of Frunzen district of Minsk.

The trial was held behind closed doors.

It is still unknown on the basis of which events a new case was opened against Kateryna.

The court found the journalist guilty "of handing over state secrets to a foreign organization, to a foreign state."

Andreyeva filed an appeal against the verdict, while she remains in Gomel pre-trial detention center No. 3, where she has been since the start of a new investigation in February 2022.

The Supreme Court will hear her appeal on September 20.

According to her relatives, her correspondence was severely restricted - letters and messages only come from her closest relatives.

Daria Chultsova, who was detained and tried together with Andreyeva, was not charged with any new charges, she served her term in the Goml women's colony.

The power struggle against non-state media

In 2020–2021, a number of independent newspapers of national and regional volume stopped being published.

Most of the newspapers stopped publication due to political pressure after publication - they were not allowed to continue publishing in Belarus.

Problems with printing presses arose before the editors of the publications:

• "Belgazeta",

• "Brest newspaper",

• "Gazeta Slonimskaya",

• "Information walk",

• "Komsomolskaya Pravda in Belarus"

• "Leader-press".

• "People's Will",

• "New Time",

• "Regional newspaper",

• "Free News Plus",

• "Hantsov time".

Many editorial offices and journalists' homes were searched.

Some newsrooms were searched several times.

Financial problems caused the closure of two more independent newspapers popular in their regions.

At the beginning of last year, "Barysau News" ceased to be published, and at the end of 2020, the last issue of the newspaper "Volnoye Glybokaye" was published.

A number of non-governmental information portals also encountered problems.

Products of websites and social networks of such mass media as:

• "Belsat"

• "Belarusian Partisan"

• "Our Niva"

• Radio Svaboda

• Express.by

• By.tribuna.com

• Tut.by

• "Brest newspaper"

In Vorsha, by the decision of the prosecutor's office, the regional portal Orsha.eu was blocked, in Gomla "Svobodnye Novosti Plus", in Vitebsk "Vitebsky Kurier".