The Committee to Protect Journalists had the following statement on the jailing of Belarusian journalist Katsiaryna Barysevich to six months in jail. Here is an excerpt:

Vilnius, Lithuania, March 2, 2021 — In response to today’s sentencing of Belarusian journalist Katsiaryna Barysevich to six months in jail and a fine over her coverage of protests in the country, the Committee to Protect Journalists issued the following statement:

“Today’s sentencing of journalist Katsiaryna Barysevich is yet another example of how the Belarusian authorities will bully into silence any journalist who would dare to report independently,” said Gulnoza Said, CPJ’s Europe and Central Asia program coordinator. “Barysevich should be released immediately and allowed to continue her work freely and safely.”

Today, the Maskouvsky district court in Minsk, the capital, convicted Barysevich, a correspondent for the independent news website Tut.by, on charges of “violating medical confidentiality with grave consequences,” sentenced her to six months in jail, and fined her 2,880 Belarusian rubles (US $1105), according to a report by her employer.

Read the full statement here.