Independent Belarusian journalist Ivan Shulha was convicted today of petty hooliganism and sentenced to 10 days in jail, RFE/RL's Belarus Service reports.
Shulha was detained on February 3 when police went to the apartment of Mikhail Yanchuk, a correspondent of the Warsaw-based Belsat television channel.
Several journalists were in Yanchuk's apartment at the time, including Shulha, who was detained and taken away by police to a district court after they said he hit a police officer.
Belsat director Agnieszka Romaszewska-Guzy said the police action was "an attempt to discredit independent journalists in Belarus."
She said Belsat would do everything possible to get Shulha out of detention. Shulha is an active member of the nongovernmental organization Belarusian Journalists Association and is a contributor to Belsat programs.
Belsat TV is a satellite television channel established by the Polish Foreign Ministry and the Polish public television company Telewizja Polska in 2007. It broadcasts to Belarus and has a network of journalists in Poland, Belarus, and Lithuania.
Shulha was detained on February 3 when police went to the apartment of Mikhail Yanchuk, a correspondent of the Warsaw-based Belsat television channel.
Several journalists were in Yanchuk's apartment at the time, including Shulha, who was detained and taken away by police to a district court after they said he hit a police officer.
Belsat director Agnieszka Romaszewska-Guzy said the police action was "an attempt to discredit independent journalists in Belarus."
She said Belsat would do everything possible to get Shulha out of detention. Shulha is an active member of the nongovernmental organization Belarusian Journalists Association and is a contributor to Belsat programs.
Belsat TV is a satellite television channel established by the Polish Foreign Ministry and the Polish public television company Telewizja Polska in 2007. It broadcasts to Belarus and has a network of journalists in Poland, Belarus, and Lithuania.