Former DW reporter Andrei Alexandrov was charged with creating an extremist formation and tax evasionOn October 6, the Minsk regional court sentenced employees of BelaPAN news agency to long prison terms.BelaPAN, the oldest independent news agency in Belarus, shut down in November 2021 after Belarusian authorities labeled it an "extremist organization."On August 18, 2021, security forces searched the editorial office and employees' homes, blocked websites, seized servers, and detained several journalists, an accountant, and the agency's management.On November 12, 2021, BelaPAN was labeled an extremist formation, and the charge was changed — Levshina was accused of creating such a group and Novozhilov of both tax evasion and the creation of an extremist formation.Critical journalists in Belarus are facing an increasing crackdown by the regimeAlexandrov, who formerly worked as a freelance reporter at DW's Russian desk and a lecturer at DW's Academy, was accused of creating an extremist formation, tax evasion in BelaPAN, as well as financing protests."