Belarus
Newspaper correspondent and husband in police custodyPosted Jan 26 2011
Journalist Irina Khalip and her husband, former presidential candidate Andrei Sannikov, have been in police custody since the end of December for participating in a rally against current president Alexander Lukashenko.
Khalip is a correspondent with Russian newspaper Novaya Gazeta and the recipient of the 2009 Courage in Journalism award from the International Women’s Media Foundation. According to IPI, secret service agents recently raided the homes of Khalip and her mother, who has been looking after Khalip and Sannikov’s three-year old son.
Twenty-four journalists have been arrested in connection with the demonstration held on Dec. 19. In addition, the government recently shut down a local radio station, and the police raided an independent newspaper office.
President Lukashenko was sworn in on Jan. 21 amid accusations of a fraudulent win by the opposition, Reuters reported. Members of the European Union did not attend the ceremony and will decide on disciplinary action by Jan. 31.
Meanwhile, the Belarusian Association of Journalists is demanding the immediate release of Khalip and five other journalists who are “candidates for long terms of imprisonment,” according to its website.