Belarus places Tut.by founder’s widow under house arrest

After being reported missing on May 18, Yulia Chernyavskaya (Yulia Charniauskaya), the widow of Tut.by founder Yuri Zisser, has been located. She is currently under house arrest in Minsk, Tut.by reported on the evening of May 20.

On Telegram, Tut.by wrote that Chernyavskaya is being treated “correctly and with respect.” However, the exact charges against her remain unknown and her lawyer had to sign a non-disclosure agreement. 

On May 18, the Belarusian authorities announced the launch of a criminal case against the leadership of Tut.by on charges of large-scale tax evasion. The media outlet’s website was blocked and law enforcement raided Tut.by’s newsroom, as well as the homes of the outlet’s employees. As of May 21, at least 14 Tut.by employees are still in custody.

Update. Later in the day on May 21, Tut.by reported that 11 of the detainees had been declared suspects in the criminal case.

The day the criminal case was unannounced, Yulia Chernyavskaya was admitted to a Minsk hospital after suffering a hypertensive crisis. She was accompanied to the hospital by a law enforcement officer. She was taken away after being discharged and her whereabouts were unknown for two days. 

On the afternoon of May 20, Tut.by reported that Chernyavskaya was being interrogated by the Financial Investigations Department.