Journalists jailed in Belarus: Katsiaryna Andreyeva, 27, and Darya Chultsova, 23 were arrested for filming the protests taking place due to the death of a protestor that happened a few days ago.
The Belarusian court sentenced two Belarusian journalists who filmed protests against President Alexander Lukashenko to two years in prison on Thursday. The two women are from the Poland-based TV news channel Belsat. They were seen doing a 'V' indicating Victory even after their verdict was announced. They were hugging each other smiling. Both the women have pleaded not guilty and their lawyer has said that they would appeal the verdict.
An opposition figure who was also exiled from the country tweeted about the journalists jailed in Belarus, "Just look at Darya and Katsiaryna – strong, smiling, and saying goodbyes to their loved ones through bars. Lukashenka can’t break us."
More than 33,000 people have been detained in a violent crackdown on protests against Lukashenko’s rule following a contested election last August that his opponents say was rigged to extend his rule. He has been in office since 1994.
The Belsat TV channel specializes in news from Belarus and employs mostly Belarusian citizens.