Belarusian journalist Katsiaryna Andreyeva released after serving over 5 years in prison

New York, March 19, 2026—The Committee to Protect Journalists welcomes the release of Belarusian journalist Katsiaryna Andreyeva, who was among 250 prisoners freed on Thursday as part of a deal in which the United States agreed to ease sanctions against ​the Belarusian financial sector, and remove all remaining U.S. sanctions on potash exports.

On the same day, U.S. Special Envoy John Coale met in Minsk, the capital, with Belarusian President Aleksandr Lukashenko, who pardoned all the released.

Fifteen of those freed, including Andreyeva, were sent ​to Lithuania without passports, while 235 were released domestically. CPJ is investigating whether additional journalists were among those released. 

“CPJ welcomes today’s release of Katsiaryna Andreyeva after years of unjust imprisonment for her work and commends the leadership role played by U.S. diplomats in securing her freedom,” said CPJ Europe and Central Asia Senior Researcher Anna Brakha. “She should never have spent a single day behind bars, and many others are still languishing in Belarusian prisons. We call on the authorities to release them all.”

Andreyeva, a correspondent with Poland-based independent broadcaster Belsat TV, was detained in November 2020 while she was reporting live on protests in Minsk. In February 2021, a court sentenced her to two years in jail on charges of “organizing and preparing of actions that grossly violate public order.” In July 2022, another court convicted her of treason and sentenced her to eight additional years in prison.

In 2024-2025, 15 journalists were freed in Belarus before the end of their sentences. Still, in March alone, four journalists were sentenced to prison terms ranging from three to 14 years because of their work, and as of CPJ’s latest prison census, in December, 2025, Belarus was ranked the fifth-worst jailer of journalists in the world, with at least 25 journalists, including Andreyeva’s husband, Ihar Ilyash, behind bars in retaliation for their work.