human rights defender
Katsiaryna Bakhvalava (Andreyeva)
Actions and Campaigns
Organization affiliation
- Belsat TV
HRD's year of birth
1993
HRD's Gender
Woman
Type of HRD
- Journalist/Blogger
HRD's thematic area of engagement
- Civil and political rights
HRD's geographical origin
Urban
Current Status
Pardoned
HRD's bio and work
Katsiaryna Bakhvalava (Andreyeva) is a journalist at Belsat TV. Together with Darya Chultsova, she was targeted in a criminal case for “organizing actions that grossly violate public order” after making a live broadcast on November 15, 2020 from the Square of Change in Minsk where the police had violently repressed a peaceful protest.
Detained since
Dec 15, 2020
Date of release
Mar 19, 2026
Charge(s)
- Creating disturbances
- Treason
Sentence
8 years and 3 months
Latitude: 52.46748962425122
Longitude: 30.942399712922672
Geolocation of detention
Country or area of detention
Region of detention
- Europe: Eastern Europe
Location of detention - City/Town
Homieĺ
Location of detention - Facility
Penal colony No. 4. 246035, Homieĺ, vulica Antoshkina 4
Recent case update / evolution
On 19 March 2026, Katsiaryna Bakhvalava (Andreyeva) was pardoned and released as part of an agreement between the governments of Belarus and the United States to lift US sanctions on two Belarusian banks, the Ministry of Finance and two fertiliser manufacturers. Upon release, Katsiaryna was deported to Lithuania.
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