Belarusian court sentences journalist Aleh Khamenka to 3 years in prison

New York, March 5, 2026— Belarusian authorities must immediately release radio host Aleh Khamenka and stop jailing journalists for their work, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Thursday.

On March 4, a Belarusian court in Minsk, the capital, convicted journalist Aleh Khamenka on charges of promoting “extremist” activities and sentenced him to three years’ imprisonment, according to the Belarusian Association of Journalists (BAJ), an advocacy and trade group operating from exile. 

The charges against Khamenka stem from his work for the Poland-based Belarusian Radio Racyja — the court files make note of his radio shows for the station, BAJ reported. 

A musician and composer, Khamenka has been a contributor to Radio Racyja since the late 2000s. He hosted several programs for the station up until his detention, including music programs like “A Dozen Hits” and “Folk Gate.” 

His trial started on February 19. The court also fined Khamenka 20,000 Belarusian rubles (US$6,800).

“Aleh Khamenka’s three-year prison sentence marks the third conviction of journalists in Belarus in less than a week — a clear indication that the authorities have by no means eased the pressure on the press in the country,” said Anna Brakha, CPJ’s Europe and Central Asia senior researcher. “Authorities should immediately release Khamenka, along with all imprisoned journalists.”

Belarusian authorities detained Khamenka on June 17, 2025, after searching his apartment in Minsk. Khamenka’s detention was made public on June 30. On July 9, the Belarusian human rights group Viasna reported that Khamenka had been detained on criminal extremism charges over his alleged cooperation with an unnamed independent Belarusian media outlet labeled as “extremist.” 

In September 2021, Radio Racyja’s website was blocked in Belarus. On January 16, 2024, the Belarusian security service (KGB) labeled the station an extremist group.

The Belarusian criminal code was amended in 2021 to comply with a package of extremism legislation. Since then, the law to combat extremism has been used to ban at least 50 media outlets, according to BAJ.

CPJ emailed the Belarusian Investigative Committee, the law enforcement agency in charge of pretrial proceedings, for comment on Khamenka’s case but did not receive a reply.

At least 26 journalists are currently behind bars in Belarus.