An independent journalist in Belarus has been arrested on charges of high treason, the latest move in a relentless crackdown on media and free speech by authoritarian President Alexander Lukashenko's government, a media rights watchdog said Thursday.
Danil Palianski, a reporter from the city of Brest, was arrested in Septmber and has remained behind bars, according to the Belarusian Association of Journalists. The 53-year-old journalist faces up to 20 years in prison if convicted.
Palianski, who worked for several independent news outlets, is one of 34 journalists in custody in Belarus, either serving sentences or awaiting trial.
"Belarus has become the most dangerous country in Europe for journalists, a place where journalists disappear behind bars and we don't know what's happening to them," said Andrei Bastunets, the head of the journalists' association.
He noted that authorities have intensified their crackdown as next year's presidential election approaches. Lukashenko, who has been in power for more than 30 years, is set to seek a seventh term.
