United States Agency for Global Media

‘Mockery of Justice’: RFE/RL demands Losik’s release as show trial gets under way in Belarus

June 24, 2021

RFE/RL President Jamie Fly termed the trial of RFE/RL Belarus Service social media consultant Ihar Losik, which started today, a “mockery of justice,” and repeated his calls for Belarusian authorities to release Losik “immediately and without condition.” The trial of Losik and five other defendants, which is being held behind closed doors inside a detention center in the Belarusian city of Homel, began one day before Losik marks a full year since authorities searched his apartment in Baranavichy and arrested him. If convicted on the two charges he faces – “incitement of social hostility to government officials and law enforcement agencies” and “organization of mass riots” – Losik faces a maximum of 12 years in prison. Read More