Former journalist Ales Lubianchuk was tried for a second time in March 2026. He spent two weeks in a penal colony before being released. Lubianchuk is now outside Belarus, the Belarusian Association of Journalists reported.
Lubianchuk was first detained in May 2022 and sentenced to three years in a penal colony on charges of participating in an “extremist formation”. He served the full term in a penal colony in Mahiliou and was released in January 2025.
In September 2025, he was detained for a second time on charges of inciting hatred over comments he had posted and facilitating “extremist activity” in connection with the “Hajun case”. Lubianchuk spent seven months in pre-trial detention in Hrodna before the trial.
The trial took place in March 2026. Prosecutors requested a sentence of four and a half years in a medium-security penal colony. The judge imposed a four-year sentence, but credited both his previous prison term and the time spent in pre-trial detention. As a result, Lubianchuk spent only two weeks in the colony, first in quarantine and then in a punishment cell. He was released in May.
On June 22, the KGB added Lubianchuk to its list of “persons involved in terrorist activities”.
