Darya Chultsova
Journalist, Belsat
Detained : 17 November 2020
Charges : Art. 342 of the Criminal Code - Organization and preparation of actions that grossly violate public order, or active participation in them
Status : Sentenced to 2 years in a medium-security penal colony
Darya Chultsova is a Belsat TV journalist, who, together with Katsiaryna Andreyeva, was accused of “organizing actions that grossly violate public order” (Article 342 of the Criminal Code) after a live broadcast from the place of the violent police crackdown on a peaceful protest in the Square of Change in Minsk on November 15.
Darya was initially sentenced to short administrative detention, but was not released after serving the sentence.
On February 18, 2021, Judhe Natallia Buhuk of the Frunzienski District Court of Minsk sentenced Chultsova to 2 years’ imprisonment in a general-security penitentiary.
The journalist was found guilty of "disrupting the work of public transport" while covering the November 15 protest.
On April 23, the Minsk City Court upheld the sentence.