On September 17, a Homiel court punished journalist Yauhen Merkis with administrative arrest for allegedly participating in an “unauthorized event,” the BAJ reports.
The journalist was detained on September 14 along with his colleague Maryna Drabysheuskaya.
On September 15, the court punished Drabysheuskaya with 10 days of arrest. The protocol on Merkis was sent for revision, but the journalist was left behind bars.
On September 17, Merkis was punished with 15 days of arrest. The trial took place in the police station. No one was allowed in.
This is the second administrative arrest of the journalist in the last month. On August 24, Yauhen Merkis was sentenced to 5 days of arrest, accused of “violating the procedure for holding a mass event”.
