Born on January 1, 1968.
On July 17, 2023, Ihar Karniej was arrested in Minsk; his house was searched. According to initial information, he was arrested for 10 days.
On July 28, 2023, Ihar Karniej was transferred to the Pre-trial Detention Center in Minsk, and a criminal case was opened against him.
On November 15, 2020, Ihar Karniej was arrested during The March of Brave People – one of the peaceful protest actions in Minsk. Under Article 23.34 of the Administrative Code (participation in an unauthorized mass event), he was sentenced to 10 days of arrest, which he served in a detention center in Žodzina. After his release, he wrote a reportage “Next stop is hell. How I spent 10 days in a detention center in Žodzina,” in which he covered the inhumane conditions in Belarusian penitentiaries.
On March 19, 2024, the Minsk City Court began hearing the criminal case of Ihar Karniej. The reason for the arrest was not disclosed before the trial. According to a publication in the state newspaper “Belarus Today,” the criminal case was initiated due to cooperation with the human rights organization “Belarusian Association of Journalists,” which was stripped of its legal status by the Supreme Court in 2021 and declared an “extremist formation” by the KGB at the beginning of 2023. According to the prosecution, Ihar Karniej continued to collaborate with the BAJ, creating “negative materials containing insults towards the head of state, government officials, journalists, and citizens who do not support the unconstitutional change of power” for it. On March 22, 2024, the Minsk City Court issued a verdict in the criminal case against Ihar Karniej under Part 3 of Article 361.1 of the Criminal Code (participation in an extremist formation) – 3 years of imprisonment in a general regime colony.
On March 25, 2024, Ihar Karniej was recognized as a political prisoner.
On December 11, 2024, in Škłoŭ, Ihar Karniej was sentenced to an additional 8 months of imprisonment under Article 411 of the Criminal Code (malicious disobedience to the demands of the administration of the correctional institution).
Mail address: Ihar Karniej, Prison No. 4, 212011, Mahiloŭ, vulica Krupskaj 99A