Ministry of Justice demands explanations from Belarusian Association of Journalists
The
Ministry of Justice wants the BAJ to explain “the legal grounds for activity of
the International Federation of Journalists on the territory of Belarus”
and the grounds on which its press-cards s are issued by the Belarusian
Association of Journalists. This is stated in the official letter of the
ministry, dated 1 April and signed by A.Kirychenka, Chair of the NGOs
department.
The letter is connected to the recent detention of a BAJ member Aleh Razkou in
Homel, whose IFJ and BAJ press-cards had been confiscated by the police for a “check-up”.
On 30 March the documents were returned, but, as we see, the Ministry of
Justice started paying attention to them.
“The question of the IFJ IDs was raised first during the hearings at the
Supreme Court concerning the warning to BAJ in 2010”, reminds Andrei
Bastunets, Deputy Chair of the BAJ. “A representative of the ministry stated
that these were press-cards of an organization that had no official registration
on the territory
of Belarus. At that very
time the BAJ press-cards were declared unlawful… The wave of check-ups of
press-cards continues the long-standing policy of the Belarusian authorities,
aimed at hindrance to the work of independent media and creating obstacles to
free access to information by the Belarusian citizens.”
“I would like to remind that the Venice Commission, an associate member of
which is Belarus,
prepared a formal opinion concerning the warning to the BAJ”, said Mr.
Bastunets. “The Commission stated that the persistent concern of the Ministry
of Justice over the member cards contradicts to a number of articles of the
International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the European Convention
for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms. As we see, the
Ministry of Justice simply ignores the conclusion of this international body.”
