Archive

The reason is an interview with Sviatlana Tikhanouskaya.

The Bonavero Institute and UNESCO are delighted to announce a joint MOOC (Massive Open Online Course) on international standards of freedom of expression. The MOOC will cover regional and international human rights law safeguards for freedom of expression, including press freedom, access to public information, safety of journalists and challenges created by the digital world. The course is free and open to legal professionals from all justice systems with an interest in human rights.

On 20 April, the Minsk City Court considered the appeal against the sentence of TUT.BY journalist Katerina Borisevich. On 2 March, the Moskovsky District Court sentenced our colleague to six months in prison. The prosecutor’s office considered this decision too lenient and filed a protest. Katerina Borisevich’s defense still believes that she is innocent and insists on acquittal.

The 2021 World Press Freedom Index compiled by Reporters Without Borders (RSF) which evaluates the press freedom situation in 180 countries and territories annually, shows that Belarus (down 5 at 158th) has confirmed its status as Europe’s most dangerous country for journalists. “The Eastern Europe and Central Asia (EECA) region held onto its second-to-last position in the regional rankings, in part because of events in Belarus (down 5 at 158th), where journalists were subjected to an unprecedented crackdown in an attempt to cover up the massive street protests in response to the contested presidential election result,” the report reads.

The Congress was attended by about 60 delegates, and guests. The Congress discussed the BAJ activities over the past three years and elected BAJ governing bodies: Chairperson, 4 deputy chairs, the Board and the Council.  11th BAJ Congress / Minsk, BIG PHOTO REPORT

Marina Vasko, the member of the Standing Committee of the House of Representatives of the National Assembly on Education, Culture and Science, suggested creating an “information shield” in Belarus following the example of China, SB. Belarus Segondya reports.

Judge of the Oktyabrsky district court in Mogilev Olga Kravchenko found Brest bloggers Sergei Petrukhin and Alexander Kabanov guilty of organizing and preparing actions that grossly violate public order, insulting a government official. Petrukhin was also found guilty of insulting a judge. Both were sentenced to three years in a general regime colony. The bloggers were not present during the hearings: they were removed from the courtroom at the beginning of the trial. The judge rejected all petitions for the participation of the accused in the process.

Euronews TV channel will stop broadcasting in Belarus, according to the website of the Ministry of Information. It will be replaced with a Russian channel Pobeda.

Hrodna journalist Dzianis Ivashyn has been kept behind bars since March 12, 2021. He was grabbed by police on the street near his block when walking to a pharmacy to pick up medicines.

The founder of the press club Yulia Slutskaia, who is now in custody in pre-trial prison # 1 in Minsk, passes information through her daughter Alyaksandra about life in the prison cell.

On April 7, the Amnesty International organisation published its 2020/2021 report on the state of the human rights in the world; it covers 149 countries and delivers a comprehensive analysis of human rights trends globally in 2020.

On Tuesday, security forces raided the flat of Current Time reporter Raman Vasyukoich. The search warramt was issued by the prosecutor’s office as part of the investigation into a case under Art. 130 (‘Incitement to racial, national, religious or social hatred’) of the Criminal Code.