Two Belarusian journalists jailed, ‘tortured’

MINSK: Two Belarusian journalists including a freelance reporter for German broadcaster Deutsche Welle, were jailed for 20 days on Saturday, and complained of torture while in pre-trial detention, a media group said.

Freelance reporter Alexander Burakov, who works for Deutsche Welle (DW), and Vladimir Laptsevich, a journalist with local online news portal Mogilev Region, were on Wednesday detained outside a courthouse in the eastern city of Mogilev.

Both were there to cover the trial of opposition politician Pavel Sevyarynets and several other figures.

A court in Mogilev on Saturday found Burakov and Laptsevich guilty of repeated participation in "an unauthorised event," said the Belarusian Association of Journalists.

During the court hearing, Burakov reported "torture and inhumane treatment" during his pre-trial detention, according to said both DW and the Belarusian media group. "He said he was repeatedly woken up at night and the guards forced him to strip naked," the German broadcaster said.