Natalya Radina (also Natalya Radzina, , born 3 May 1979 in

Kobrin Kobryn ( be, Кобрын; russian: Кобрин; pl, Kobryń; lt, Kobrynas; uk, Кобринь, Kobryn'; yi, קאָברין) is a city in the Brest Region of Belarus and the center of the Kobryn District. The city is located in the southwe ...

) is a

Belarus Belarus,, , ; alternatively and formerly known as Byelorussia (from Russian ). officially the Republic of Belarus,; rus, Республика Беларусь, Respublika Belarus. is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe. It is bordered by R ...

ian journalist and the editor-in-chief of the independent news site ''

Charter 97 Charter 97 ( be, Хартыя'97; russian: Хартия'97) is a declaration calling for democracy in Belarus and a pro- human rights news site taking its inspiration from the declaration. The document – the title of which deliberately echoes th ...

'', which publishes many articles critical of the rule of Belarusian president

Aleksandr Lukashenko Alexander Grigoryevich Lukashenko (as transliterated from Russian; also transliterated from Belarusian as Alyaksand(a)r Ryhoravich Lukashenka;, ; rus, Александр Григорьевич Лукашенко, Aleksandr Grigoryevich Luk ...

Editorship of ''Charter 97''

Following the disputed December 2010 presidential election—in which pro-democracy candidate

Andrei Sannikov Andrei Olegovich Sannikov (or Andrei Sannikau, be, Андрэй Алегавіч Саннікаў, russian: Андрей Олегович Санников, born 8 March 1954) is a Belarusian politician and activist. In the early 1990s, he headed ...

lost to Lukashenko—a number of opposition protesters took to the streets, alleging fraud. Radina and the ''Charter 97'' staff posted numerous articles documenting arrests and injuries to the protesters by state security forces.

Repression

On 21 December 2010, the ''Charter 97'' office was raided by agents of the State Security Committee of the Republic of Belarus (known in Russian as the "KGB"). Radina only had time to post "We're all at the KGB" on the site before being arrested and taken away. Radina was then indicted on charges of "organizing mass disorder", an offense carrying a possible fifteen-year jail sentence.

Amnesty International Amnesty International (also referred to as Amnesty or AI) is an international non-governmental organization focused on human rights, with its headquarters in the United Kingdom. The organization says it has more than ten million members and sup ...

named her a prisoner of conscience and demanded her release, as did the

Committee to Protect Journalists The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) is an American independent non-profit, non-governmental organization, based in New York City, New York, with correspondents around the world. CPJ promotes press freedom and defends the rights of journ ...

. Radina was released on 31 January 2011 on the condition that she relocate from the capital of

Minsk Minsk ( be, Мінск ; russian: Минск) is the capital and the largest city of Belarus, located on the Svislach and the now subterranean Niamiha rivers. As the capital, Minsk has a special administrative status in Belarus and is the admi ...

to her hometown of

. She was told not to leave Kobrin and to check in daily with police; in addition, her passport was confiscated, and she was forbidden to speak about her case. Unable to work, Radina fled from Belarus to Russia in March 2011. She spent four months in hiding in

Moscow Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 million ...

before receiving asylum from

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populous ...

and moving there to live. She continues to act as editor-in-chief of ''Charter 97''. Later in 2011 she got political asylum in Lithuania. In July 2018, while living in Poland, Radina received a death threat that she attributed to Belarusian authorities. Reporters Without Borders called for the Polish authorities to identify the source of the threat and provide protection for Radina.

Awards

In November 2011, The Committee to Protect Journalists presented Radina its International Press Freedom Award, "an annual recognition of courageous journalism". In her acceptance speech, Radina blamed "foreign indifference" for the continued dictatorship of Lukashenko and called on foreign governments to remember that "all of Belarus today is a big prison".

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Radina, Natalya Belarusian democracy activists Belarusian dissidents Belarusian journalists Living people 1979 births Amnesty International prisoners of conscience held by Belarus Imprisoned journalists Belarusian emigrants to Lithuania Belarusian women journalists