July 3, 2021-  Iryna Novik, a project editor for Hrodna.life, was detained by the Belarusian police over a photo she released. She posted a picture of a Ryanair plane with a logo of a Telegram channel banned in the country. The photo remained on the channel’s feed for five hours, though Iryna reports that when the error was noticed, the post was removed. She was detained for two days before she was released. CFWIJ condemns the unjustified crackdown on press freedom in the country. We stand in solidarity with Iryna and denounce the attack against the journalist. 

Iryna and the editor-in-chief for Hrodna.life, Alyaksei Shota, were both detained. The authorities fined Iryna 725 rubbles and slapped Alyaksei with a 14,500 rubles fine since he is a representative of the organization.  During the two days in detention, Iryna was in solitary confinement, not allowed to sit, read, write or draw from 6 to 10 pm. She was scheduled for a hospital visit that had to be canceled due to her imprisonment. 

In her recent interview, the journalist shared, “If you sit in that imprisonment cell in the police department, where it stinks of socks, you can smell that in everything. It seemed to me there was nothing worse, and happiness in life was over, and then you are told not to sit in that cell.” Iryna further shared that when she left the police station, she felt like a homeless person,  “I had nothing in this city, no one was waiting for me. I don’t have a phone, no keys to the house.”  

The Coalition For Women In Journalism condemns the detention of Iryna Novik. We urge the state authorities to let press freedom thrive in the country and stop targeting critical voices. We stand in solidarity with the journalist and demand an immediate investigation into the matter. CFWIJ has created an in-focus page containing the statements and reports to shed light on the threats and violations against women journalists in Belarus.