Belarusian journalist accused of  ‘assisting extremist activity’ for taking pictures of Russian military aircraft 

Yury Gontsarevich, a Belarusian journalist, is accused of ‘assisting extremist activity’. He was arrested and sent to a pre-trial detention centre, says Belarusian Association of Journalists.

Gontsarevich was arrested a week ago. On 1 May, he took pictures of ‘supposedly Russian military aircraft’ at a military airfield in Baranavichy. He then sent those pictures to Radio Free Europe, as he says in a video published on Telegram.

He also says he took a screenshot of a weather website satellite image where a convoy of Russian military machinery can be seen. He shared the images with Zerkalo.io, the former tut.by.

Radio Free Europe is considered ‘an extremist organisation’ in Belarus. Gontsarevich is facing up to six years in prison.

Sofia Sapega, a Russian national, was sentenced to six years in Belarusian prison for ‘incitement to hatred’ earlier.