Two independent articles were sent to two years in prison after being convicted of "public disorder" • The two were arrested and beaten in a non-violent demonstration in November
The convicted journalists hug after reading the verdict // Photo: AP
A court in Minsk today (Thursday) sentenced two journalists from Belsat - a Belarusian independent TV channel headquartered in Warsaw - to two years in prison, according to Russian independent TV Rain TV and Tut.by Belarus.
After no less than three days of hearings, Daria Choltseva and Viktorina Andreeva - in Ahlavova were accused of organizing and carrying out "acts that grossly violate public order", ie of live broadcasting and organizing demonstrations in Minsk.
They will want the punishment in a penal colony.
At the same time, the judge ordered the destruction of four diaries, stickers and a cloth in red and white (the colors used by opposition activists and symbolizing the classic Belarusian flag).
The court argued that these findings constitute conclusive evidence for the journalists' accusation.
Photograph equipment and glowing vests with the caption Press were also confiscated from them.
According to reports and the indictment, on November 15 last year, Choltsova and Ahblova broadcast live from an apartment located in Minsk Square, which was given the symbolic name "Square of Changes".
As part of the preparations for the broadcast, they organized a silent demonstration in memory of Roman Bondarenko, an opposition activist who died after being beaten by police.
After this incident, police officers arrived at the apartment and arrested the two.
The prosecution alleges that Choltseva and Ahablova circulated a call for protesters on social media to come to the square with the aim of "producing mass opposition to the actions of law enforcers."
During the trial the journalists refused to admit their guilt and rejected it outright.
Their lawyers claimed that on the day they broadcast the broadcast across Minsk there was no mobile internet and that the prosecution did not prove that their actions led to a protest event in the square.
