Belarus: CFWIJ condemns the accusations of tax evasion against Belarussian media professional Yulia Slutskaya

December 22, 2020, Minsk — Yulia Slutskaya, the founder of Press Club Belarus, was arrested on tax evasion charges. The Coalition For Women In Journalism condemns the arrest and demands authorities immediately investigate the legitimacy of these allegations. 

Yulia is the founder of a platform for the professional development of independent media and journalists. She was detained at the Minsk airport on December 22, 2020, after returning from a vacation. On December 31, 2020, Yulia was accused of large-scale tax evasion. 

Moreover, Yulia was informed that the charges against her stemmed from a “public television project” reportedly created by former journalists of state television channels. According to her daughter Alexandra Slutskaya, the family did not know Yulia’s whereabouts for 24 hours after her arrest. 

In recent months, multiple media professionals have been arrested in Belarus following the contested election of August 9, 2020. Alexander Lukashenko, who has governed Belarus for 26 years, was sworn in again as the president. Lukashenko was inaugurated amidst accusations of widespread fraud in the electoral process. 

Thousands of people have taken to the streets of Belarus, protesting the election and its results. Several journalists have been wrongfully detained for their coverage of the social unrest. 
The CFWIJ has been closely following the arrests and detentions of journalists in Belarus. We condemn the blatant attempts to suppress free speech in the country and demand that Yulia is released.