Belarusian Journalist Aksana Kolb Arrested Without Explanation

Belarusian journalist Aksana Kolb, editor of the independent weekly Novy Chas, in Minsk, was arrested by law enforcement without explanation on April 20.

Aksana Kolb/Facebook

Kolb’s location is unclear but her colleagues believe she is being held at the Akrestsin Detention Center in Minsk. Authorities have not revealed a reason for her arrest.

It is not uncommon for authorities in Belarus to hold suspects in criminal cases for up to 10 days. After the 10 day timeframe, authorities must either release suspects, file charges against them, or charge them with separate offenses, according to a Novy Chas representative who spoke to the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ).

Kolb’s arrest comes several months after police raided the offices of Novy Chas. In October 2021, Kolb was removed from the office and taken before the Belarusian Investigative Committee. Authorities also took deputy editor-in-chief Syarhey Pulsha into custody after searching his home. Both were subject to interrogation at the hands of police and made to sign nondisclosure agreements to stop them from talking about the case.

Novy Chas is one of the few independent media outlets in Belarus. It was distributed in print until June 2021 after Belposhta, Belarus’s national postal service, refused to distribute the newspaper by subscription. Shortly afterward, Novy Chas announced that it was forced to cease issuing printed newspapers due to companies refusing to print it. It resumed publishing online on a new Internet domain and has in recent weeks angered authorities for covering Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, which Belarus has backed to much consernation from the international community.