Statements by BAJ and partners

In response to a Belarusian court sentencing journalist Yauhen Merkis to four years in prison on Tuesday, May 30, the Committee to Protect Journalists issued the statement.

Today, marking the Day of the Political Prisoner in Belarus, the undersigned organisations reiterate our condemnation of the Lukashenko regime's ruthless crackdown on civil society and independent media. We continue to stand in solidarity with courageous Belarusians who persist in their fight for freedom. The international community will keep demanding the unconditional release of all political prisoners.    

Joint statement by the Belarusian human rights community

Minsk City Court considered in camera the criminal case against the editor-in-chief of the largest Belarusian media outlet TUT.BY, Maryna Zolatava, and TUT.BY CEO Ludmila Chekina. Judge Valiantsina Ziankevich found the TUT.BY workers guilty and imposed huge sentences: Maryna Zolatava received 12 years of imprisonment, Ludmila Chekina – 12 years of imprisonment.

JOINT STATEMENT - THE OBSERVATORY / HELSINKI FOUNDATION FOR HUMAN RIGHTS

On February 28, the Belarusian State Security Committee recognized the Belarusian Association of Journalists as an extremist formation. BAJ was the first Belarusian human rights organization to be “awarded” such a status. The international community is outraged by such a decision by the Belarusian authorities.

On March 7, it became known that the State Security Committee of Belarus recognized the Belarusian Association of Journalists as an extremist formation. BAJ became the first Belarusian human rights organization that ”received" such a status.

Paris-Geneva, March 2, 2023 – Tomorrow, the Leninsky District Court in Minsk is expected to hand down its verdict in the case of Viasna leaders Ales Bialiatski, Valiantsin Stefanovic and Uladzimir Labkovich. On the eve of the verdict, the signatory organisations reiterate their calls to release the human rights defenders and drop all charges against them.

On 8 February, Hrodna Regional Court sentenced Andrzej Poczobut, a prominent Belarusian journalist, publicist, and member of the Union of Poles in Belarus, to eight years in prison. Poczobut was found guilty of encouraging actions aimed at harming the national security of the Republic of Belarus and inciting ethnic hostility.

Last year, the Belarusian Association of Journalists won the UNESCO/Guillermo Cano World Press Freedom Prize. 46 countries, as well as many journalistic organizations globally, nominated BAJ for this award. Among them was the National Union of Journalists of Ukraine, BAJ’s close partner.

The achievement of sustainable development goals in Belarus is undoubtedly impossible without independent media and journalists allowing the general public access to information of public interest. However, the state of media freedom and the right of access to information in Belarus is deteriorating year by year. The 2020 presidential election period has been a critical milestone that launched a large-scale policy process against independent media, accompanied by official attempts to control all information dissemination, as well as suppress dissent.

Editor-in-chief and executive director accused of 'incitement to hatred'

Joint statement by the Belarusian human rights community

A court in Minsk sentenced investigative journalist Sergei Satsuk to eight years in prison on Wednesday. The European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) and its affiliate the Belarusian Association of Journalists (BAJ) denounce this illegitimate conviction and demand his immediate release.