Archive

On June 4, Alena Dubovik, a freelance journalist who contributes to Belsat, and cameraman Ales Barazenka were detained in the town of Babruysk where they were covering wannabe presidential candidate Svyatlana Tsikhanouskaya’s pre-election picket.

Belarus appeared among the few European countries that refused to announce a lock-down in connection with the COVID-19 pandemic. But for that, the government rejected the seriousness of this deadly disease for a long period of time.The President of Belarus Aliaksandr Lukashenka called the pandemic a 'psychosis' and 'infodemia' and called on the Ministry of Information and law enforcement agencies to fight the spread of 'hype' on the subject of coronavirus.

Names of journalists, judges, dates, sums of fines imposed on journalists in 2014 - 2020 for administrative article 22.9 (unlawful production and distribution of mass media products).

State propaganda accuses independent colleagues of misinformation and whipping up public hysteria, authorities threaten them with warnings and fines. At the same time, officials meet the journalists with a wall of silence. It is extremely difficult to get either their comments, or official responses to media enquiries. Belarusian Association of Journalists asked colleagues from different media to tell their stories on how officials denied them information.

On May 26, Zmitser Lupach, a journalist from the town of Hlybokaye, appeared before Sharkaushchyna district court.

Journalists Alexander Burakou and Ales Asiptsou were released from temporary detention center in Mahiliou. Both journalists served ten days of jail for alleged participation in unauthorized mass events.

Mahiliou police arrested freelance journalist Alexander Burakou Jr.

Human Rights House Foundation is observing with increasing concern the wave of arrests and disappearances of human rights defenders and journalists across Belarus. Against the backdrop of worrying increases in COVID-19 infections and the August 2020 Presidential elections, the actions by Belarusian authorities to intimidate human rights defenders and limit the spread of information by independent journalists are alarming.

At the moment, 4 journalists are serving arrests under Art. 23.34 Part 1 "Violation of the order of organization or holding mass events." 

Today judge Aksana Ratnikava (Leninski district court of Mahiliou) sentenced journalist Mikhail Arshynski to11 days of arrest for violation of Article 23.34 of the Administrative Code (participation in an unauthorized mass event). This way, Mikhail will spend the total of 21 days behind bars - on May 11, he got another 10 days in jail for alleged participation in an unsanctioned meeting.

Today judge of the Leninsky district court of Mahiliou Viktoria Paliakova sentenced journalist Alexander Burakou, BAJ member, to 10 days in jail for participation in an unauthorized mass protest on May 6 outside of the detention center in Mahiliou.

10 days in jail and a fine of 45 basic values was the sentence given to journalist Zmitser Lupach by Hlabokaye distric court judge Dzmitry Tarasevich. He was tried on May 11 under to charges of the Administrative Code -- Art. 22.9 Part 2 (illegal production and distribution of media products) and Art. 23.34 Part 1 (Violation of the order of organization or holding mass events).

Immediately after the arrest, the cameraman’s phone became unavailable.

On May 6, the Belarusian Foreign Ministry revoked the accreditation of Alexei Kruchinin, a correspondent of Russia’s state-owned Channel 1, and his cameraman.