DUBAI: A Belarusian court convicted a journalist for Polish broadcaster Belsat TV to five years in jail on Wednesday, a verdict Warsaw described as unacceptable and one that it would respond to.
Iryna Slaunikava, the journalist, was found guilty of setting up an extremist group and organizing mass unrest, the latest of scores to be jailed under such charges during a crackdown that has rumbled on since a spate of protests in 2020.
Slaunikava was arrested in October at an airport as she returned from a holiday. Most of her trial was held behind closed doors, but she could be seen in a cage for the defendant when the verdict was handed down.
Belsat is a Polish broadcaster focused on Belarusian news that Minsk has branded as extremist.
Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki described her jailing as an “absolute scandal, a violation of all civilization norms, human rights and journalistic standards.”
“This unacceptable verdict will meet with Poland’s immediate, decisive reaction at an international level,” he wrote on Facebook.
Last month, a Belarusian court sentenced another Belsat journalist to eight years in jail for treason.
The Belarusian Vesna-96 rights group estimates Belarus is holding about 1,300 political prisoners.
Many of them were arrested during a wave of protests against President Alexander Lukashenko who has been in power since 1994.
Belarus jails journalist for Polish broadcaster; Warsaw vows response
https://arab.news/g9g8q
Belarus jails journalist for Polish broadcaster; Warsaw vows response
- Iryna Slaunikava, the journalist, was found guilty of setting up an extremist group and organising mass unrest
- Most of her trial was held behind closed doors
Bondi Beach attack hero says wanted to protect ‘innocent people’
DUBAI: Bondi Beach shooting hero Ahmed Al Ahmed recalled the moment he ran toward one of the attackers and wrenched his shotgun away, saying the only thing he had in mind was to stop the assailant from “killing more innocent people.”
Al-Ahmad’s heroism was widely acclaimed in Australia when he tackled and disarmed gunman Sajid Akram who fired at Jewish people attending a Hanukkah event on December 14, killing 15 people and wounding dozens.
“My target was just to take the gun from him, and to stop him from killing a human being’s life and not killing innocent people,” he told CBS News in an interview on Monday.
“I know I saved lots, but I feel sorry for the lost.”
In footage viewed by millions of people, Al Ahmed was seen ducking between parked cars as the shooting unfolded, then wresting a gun from one of the assailants.
He was shot several times in the shoulder as a result and underwent several rounds of surgery.
“I jumped in his back, hit him and … hold him with my right hand and start to say a word like, you know, to warn him, ‘Drop your gun, stop doing what you’re doing’,” Al Ahmed said.
“I don’t want to see people killed in front of me, I don’t want to see blood, I don’t want to hear his gun, I don’t want to see people screaming and begging, asking for help,” Al Ahmed told the television network.
“That’s my soul asked me to do that, and everything in my heart, and my brain, everything just worked, you know, to manage and to save the people’s life,” he said.
EXCLUSIVE: Ahmed al Ahmed, the man hailed as a hero for tackling one of the gunmen behind an antisemitic attack on Australia's Bondi Beach earlier this month, is speaking out in the aftermath of the massacre.
— CBS News (@CBSNews) December 28, 2025
"I know I saved lots, but I feel sorry still for the lost." pic.twitter.com/gFUfJvv7c6
Al Ahmed was at the beach getting a cup of coffee when the shooting occurred.
He is a father of two who emigrated to Australia from Syria in 2007, and works as a fruit seller.
Local media reported that the Australian government has fast-tracked and granted a number of visas for Al Ahmed’s family following his act of bravery.
“Ahmed has shown the courage and values we want in Australia,” Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke said in a statement.
One of the gunmen, Sajid Akram, 50, was shot and killed by police during the attack. An Indian national, he entered Australia on a visa in 1998.
His 24-year-old son Naveed, an Australian-born citizen, remains in custody on charges including terrorism and 15 murders, as well as committing a “terrorist act” and planting a bomb with intent to harm.
(with AFP)
