Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what recent discussions he has had with his Belarusian counterpart on the arrest of former FCDO Chevening alumnus and journalist Andrei Aliaksandrau and its wider implications for media freedom in Belarus.

The Government is deeply concerned by the continuing attacks on media freedom in Belarus. There have been more than 400 reported incidents of persecution of media figures in Belarus. In 2020, Belarusian journalists spent over 1200 days in prison for simply doing their job. The Government has repeatedly raised its concerns with the Belarusian authorities, including the case of Mr Aliaksandrau and condemned the actions of the Belarusian authorities in international fora. We have increased financial support to independent media organisations in Belarus and have recognised their courage by presenting the inaugural Canada-UK Media Freedom Award to the Belarusian Association of Journalists.