Andrei Alexandrov
Andrei Alexandrov is human rights defender and a prominent media manager in Belarus. Between 2009 and 2012 Andrei Alexandrov worked as a deputy head of the Belarusian Association of Journalists and from 2014 to 2018, he was the deputy director of the BelaPAN news agency. He has also worked for the international organisations Index on Censorship and Article 19. Andrei Alexandrov is a founder and the editor in chief of the “Belarusian Journal”. As a qualified media expert, Andrei Alexandrov has been engaged in numerous trainings for journalists and editors in Belarus and abroad, and provided consultations for several media outlets.
About The Situation
On 30 June 2021, detained human rights defender Andrei Alexandrov faced additional charges under Part 1 of Article 356 of the Criminal Code for “issuance of state secrets of the Republic of Belarus to a foreign state, international or foreign organization or their representatives”. If convicted, the charges carry a possible imprisonment sentence of up to 7 to 15 years. According to his lawyer, the human rights defender was shocked and denies the charge.
On 22 March 2021, the colleagues of human rights defender Andrei Alexandrov were informed that his detention term had been extended for one additional month due to the ongoing investigation against him.
On 12 January 2021, human rights defender Andrei Alexandrov was detained on the suspicion of “education or other preparation of persons for participation in group actions that grossly violate public order, as well as financing or other material support of such activities”.