Belarusian state TV on June 7 broadcast what it said was an interview with the wife of RFE/RL journalist Ihar Losik, who is serving a 15-year prison sentence for charges that he, RFE/RL, and foreign governments have called politically motivated.
Darya Losik, who herself has been jailed on a charge of facilitating extremist activity, is seen in the recording, which RFE/RL determined took place in March.
The video features hidden camera footage recorded the moment Darya Losik entered the prison in Homel where she was sent to serve her two-year sentence. The charge stemmed from her interview with the Poland-based Belsat television channel, which Minsk has labeled as extremist.
Dayra Losik speaks in the interview about the threat of "removing the child from the family," but it is not clear whether she is referring to the Losiks' 5-year-old daughter, Paulina, who has been cared for by Darya's parents since she was sent to prison.
Darya Losik also said in the interview that she filed for divorce, and that she had been working in a factory sewing uniforms for security forces.
It was impossible to verify her statements, and RFE/RL opted not to show the video on its channels or quote any of her other statements because it is not known how they were obtained.
State television has broadcast other interviews with other prisoners taken into custody during anti-government protests that appeared to have been staged.
The Vyasna human rights group said on Telegram that the authorities claimed that Darya Losik wanted to give an interview in order to "tell the truth about herself and what was done to her."
Vyasna's Telegram message showed Darya Losik's yellow ID badge, which indicated she is to be released on August 1, 2024.
Ihar Losik was arrested in June 2020 and sentenced to 15 years in prison in December 2021 on several charges, including "organizing mass riots, incitement to social hatred," and several other charges that remain unclear. He has maintained his innocence and calls all charges against him politically motivated.
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Ahead Of Verdict, Parents Of Jailed Belarusian Blogger Losik Say He's 'Not Guilty Of Anything'
Losik has been held incommunicado since February 20, 2023. He has been placed several times in a cell-type premises (PKT) where letters, parcels from relatives, and visits are banned.