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Independent Belarusian journalist tried in so-called ‘extremism’ case

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A prominent independent journalist went on trial in Belarus on Tuesday on extremism charges widely seen as politically motivated.

Ihar Karnei, who used to write for Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty and other independent news outlets, is accused of participating in an extremist group, which is punishable by up to six years in prison. RFE/RL, a U.S. government-funded broadcaster, has been designated extremist in Belarus, a common label for anyone who criticizes the government in the country where harsh crackdown on dissent continues unabated and working for it or spreading its content is a criminal offense.

Journalists and activists in Belarus have faced large-scale repression since the August 2020 vote that handed a sixth term to President Alexander Lukashenko. Following the election, which was rejected as fraudulent by the opposition and the West, Belarus was swept by massive protests, some of which drew more than 100,000 people.

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Authorities responded with a brutal crackdown. More than 35,000 people were arrested, thousands were beaten by police while in custody, and dozens of nongovernmental organizations and independent media outlets were shut down.

A total of 34 journalists are currently behind bars in Belarus, according to the Belarusian Association of Journalists.

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Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko watches military drills via videoconference with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow, Russia, Saturday, Feb. 19, 2022. The Russian military on Friday announced massive drills of its strategic nuclear forces. Russian President Vladimir Putin will personally oversee Saturdays exercise, which will involve multiple practice launches of intercontinental ballistic missiles and cruise missiles, the Defense Ministry said.

Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko watches military drills via videoconference with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow, Russia, Saturday, Feb. 19, 2022. (Alexei Nikolsky, Sputnik, Kremlin Pool Photo via AP)

Karnei was detained several times while covering the protests. Unlike many of his colleagues, he has remained in Belarus despite the crackdown. He was arrested again in July 2023, his apartment was raided, with police seizing phones and computers, and the authorities eventually charged him with taking part in an extremist group.

«Karnei’s case shows both the degree of danger and the degree of absurdity of the charges, when a journalist in Belarus is tried for a job done professionally —- for spreading objective information,» said Andrei Bastunets, the leader of the Belarusian Association of Journalists. «The authorities have introduced severe censorship and Belarus today has become one of the most dangerous countries in the world for journalists.»

Diplomats from seven Western nations, including Germany, Sweden, Poland and the U.K., on Monday went to the courthouse in Minsk where the first hearing in Karnei’s trial was taking place and demanded the release of the journalist, as well as other political prisoners.

«Over the past 46 months, the authorities in Belarus wrongfully arrested tens of thousands. A large number of political prisoners are reported to have life-threatening conditions and severe illnesses while proper medical care is denied to them,» the diplomats said in a statement.

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Belarus’ most prominent and oldest rights group, Viasna, has counted 1,406 political prisoners in a country of 9.5 million. Among them is Nobel Peace Prize laureate Ales Bialiatski, founder of Viasna.

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Trump and ‘no one else’ can end the Ukraine-Russia war, US ally says

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President Donald Trump, who echoes former President Ronald Reagan’s «peace through strength» mantra, has the credibility to end the nearly three-year war between Ukraine and Russia, Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjártó told Fox News Digital.

«If he doesn’t have the ability, no one has the ability,» Szijjártó said.

In the nearly three years since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, world leaders from several countries have tried to step in and end the conflict. Szijjártó believes there’s a reason that European leaders and the Biden administration «totally failed» to end the war. The foreign minister believes world leaders were fighting for an «impossible» victory, saying it was «obvious from the very beginning» that Ukraine could not win.

«If you look at the current situation, regardless of the huge money, regardless of the huge weapon deliveries which have been poured into Ukraine, the battlefield reality shows the advance of the Russians,» Szijjártó said.

Russian President Vladimir Putin, President Donald Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy (Sputnik/Alexei Danichev/Pool via Reuters/Leah Millis/Alina Smutko)

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Szijjártó believes that Trump has credibility with both the Ukrainians and Russians, and that while other leaders have had this, they lost it by taking «a very clear position in favor of Ukraine against Russia.»

The Hungarian official also accused European leaders of treating the war between Russia and Ukraine as their own, adding to the list of possible reasons why they have failed to bring an end to it.

«So, if you really think that Ukraine should negotiate in its best shape, then we have to stop the war today because tomorrow Ukraine will be in a weaker position than today,» Szijjártó told Fox News Digital. He went on to accuse his European colleagues of not respecting the «reality» of the current state of the war.

This week, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Kyiv would accept either a fast-track to NATO or nuclear weapons. However, retired Lt. Gen. Keith Kellogg, Trump’s envoy for Russia and Ukraine, doubts that the Ukrainian leader’s demands will be met.

«The chance of them getting their nuclear weapons back is somewhere between slim and none,» Kellogg told Fox News Digital.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy talks to President Donald Trump

President Donald Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy met at Trump Tower in New York City on Sept. 27, 2024. (Reuters/Shannon Stapleton/File Photo)

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Late last month, Trump called on Russian President Vladimir Putin to make a deal with Zelenskyy to end the war. However, this has yet to happen. The president also said that Zelenskyy was ready to negotiate a deal to end the war.

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«The only person that Putin will really want to talk to – because he’s kind of denigrated other leaders that are out there – is President Trump, and President Trump’s the only one who can bring this to a conclusion,» Kellogg told «Fox & Friends Weekend» on Sunday. He described Trump and Putin’s relationship as «very transactional.»

Putin and Trump

Russian President Vladimir Putin and President Donald Trump (Contributor/Rebecca Noble/Getty Images)

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In September 2024, before he won re-election, Trump met with Zelenskyy in New York City at Trump Tower.

After meeting with Zelenskyy, Trump told Fox News, «We both want to see this end and we both want a fair deal made. And it’s got to be fair.»

Fox News Digital’s Caitlin McFall contributed to this report.


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