Belarus journalist Maryna Zolatava freed after four years
JournalismPakistan.com | Published 5 hours ago | JP Global Monitoring Desk
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Belarusian journalist Maryna Zolatava was freed after over four years in detention alongside 122 political prisoners, spotlighting authoritarian repression and ongoing risks to independent media.Summary
MINSK, Belarus — Belarusian journalist Maryna Zolatava, a former editor of the independent news site Tut.by, was released from prison on December 13, 2025, after more than four years in detention as part of a broader release of 123 political prisoners. The move was welcomed by press freedom advocates but underscored that many journalists and activists remain behind bars under President Alexander Lukashenko’s authoritarian regime.
The release of Zolatava, once emblematic of the crackdown on independent media in Belarus, comes amid a diplomatic backdrop in which Minsk agreed to ease tensions with Western powers, including the United States, in exchange for lifting certain sanctions that targeted key sectors of the Belarusian economy.
Press freedom context
Reporters Without Borders, a global press freedom group, said Zolatava had been unjustly imprisoned for her work leading the Tut.by news portal, which was shut down by authorities after its office was seized. She was arrested in May 2021 and later sentenced to a 12‑year term in a penal colony on charges widely viewed by rights groups as politically motivated.
Her incarceration had become a symbol of the harsh environment for independent journalism in Belarus, where authorities have tightened control over information, blocked leading news sites, and imposed fines and legal actions against media workers.
Lukashenko amnesty and diplomacy
Zolatava was released alongside 122 other political prisoners as part of the largest mass amnesty in Belarus in 2025. The pardons were linked to negotiations with the United States, which agreed to lift sanctions on Belarusian potash exports after two days of talks with President Lukashenko’s government, according to international reporting. High‑profile figures such as Nobel Peace Prize laureate Ales Bialiatski and opposition activists were also freed.
Despite the amnesty, rights groups say well over a thousand political prisoners remain in detention in Belarus, including journalists and activists. The broader release highlights both a temporary diplomatic opening and the persistent dangers for independent media and dissenting voices in an authoritarian context.
KEY POINTS:
- Belarusian journalist Maryna Zolatava was released after more than four years in detention
- She was freed among 123 political prisoners in a mass amnesty linked to diplomatic talks with the United States
- Zolatava’s imprisonment symbolized Belarus’s crackdown on independent media
- Authorities shut down Tut.by and sentenced Zolatava on widely viewed political charges
- Despite the release, many journalists and activists remain imprisoned
- International rights groups call for further releases and an end to repression
ATTRIBUTION: This story is based on reporting from Reuters and Reporters Without Borders
PHOTO: Maryna Zolatava (rsf.org)
