ESTONIA (AP) – Journalist Ksenia Lutskina served only half of her eight-year prison sentence in Belarus after being convicted of conspiracy to overthrow the government. She was pardoned after she kept fainting in her cell from a brain tumour diagnosed during pretrial detention.

“I was literally brought to the penal colony in a wheelchair, and I realised that journalism has really turned into a life-threatening profession in Belarus,” she told The Associated Press in Vilnius, Lithuania, where she lives.

Lutskina was one of dozens of journalists imprisoned in Belarus, where many face beatings, poor medical care and the inability to contact lawyers or relatives, according to activists and former inmates.

The group Reporters Without Borders said Belarus is Europe’s leading jailer of journalists. At least 40 are serving long prison sentences, according to the Belarusian Association of Journalists (BAJ).

Lutskina had quit her job making documentaries for Belarus’ state broadcaster in 2020 when mass protests broke out after an election kept President Alexander Lukashenko in power. Trying to set up an alternative TV channel to fact-check government officials, she was arrested that year, put on trial and later convicted.

Other journalists fled the country of 9.5 million and operate from abroad. But many have had to curtail their work after United States President Donald Trump’s administration cut off foreign aid, a vital source of funding for many independent media.

“Journalists are forced to face not only repressions within the country, but also the sudden withdrawal of US aid, which puts many editorial offices on the brink of survival,” BAJ chair Andrei Bastunets told AP.

Lukashenko’s brutal crackdown after the disputed election led to over 65,000 arrests between 2020-25. Thousands told of being beaten by police, opposition figures were jailed or forced into exile, and hundreds of thousands fled abroad in fear.

Independent journalists have been swept up too, with outlets closed or outlawed.

Lukashenko, in power for over three decades, routinely calls them “enemies of our state,” and vows that those who fled won’t be allowed to return. “The raids, arrests and abuse of journalists have been unceasing for five years, but now they have reached the point of absurdity,” Bastunets said, noting that families of journalists are being threatened. Families of some targeted journalists have asked rights groups not to talk publicly about their cases for fear of further reprisal.

Every month brings new arrests and searches, with almost all independent media leaving Belarus. The crackdown even hits those who switch their focus to nonpolitical content. Seven journalists were charged with “assisting extremist activity.”

Extremism is the most common charge used to detain, fine and jail critically minded citizens. Even reading independent media that’s been declared extremist can result in short-term arrest. Working with or subscribing to banned media is seen as “assisting extremism,” punishable by up to seven years in prison.

Lutskina, the journalist who also fled to Lithuania, brought her 14-year-old son with her, saying he “must learn to distinguish truth from lies.” They both have read George Orwell’s dystopian novel 1984, which was banned in Belarus, and are finding “surprising parallels” with her homeland.

“Belarus has turned into a gray country under a gray sky, where people are afraid of everything and speak in whispers,” she said.

Lutskina, who is being treated for the tumour that caused her fainting spells, said she actually felt less fear in prison than her fellow Belarusians outside it.

They walk around with their heads down, she said, “afraid to raise their eyes and see the nightmare happening around them,” she added.

ABOVE & BELOW: File photos shows Belarusian opposition supporters gather for a protest in front of a government building in Belarus; and plainclothes policemen detaining a protester. PHOTO: AP PHOTO: AP Belarusian journalist Ksenia Lutskina. PHOTO: AP