News on the topic: freedom of expression
30.08.2007 Hrodna: Prosecutor’s Office Struggles against ‘Discredit of Police’
On 29 August the journalist Ivan Roman was called to Leninski district prosecutor’s office of Hrodna. The prosecutor started investigating if Ivan Roman had been the author of ‘the governmental body discrediting’ news story published at Radio Ratsyja website in July.
16.08.2007 Mahiliou: Policeman Boldly Violates Journalist’s Rights
On 14 August in Chekhau Street 16 the editor of a small-circulation non-state newspaper Miastsovy Chas Hanna Iliina attended a meeting of Belarusian public activists with their Polish and German colleagues.
14.08.2007 Reporters Without Borders Condemns Situation of Freedom of Speech in Belarus
Reporters Without Borders condemns the parliamentary human rights and media committee’s decision on 3 August to reject a request from the Belarus Association of Journalists (BAJ) that it should consider whether article 10 of the media law violates articles 33 and 34 of the constitution.
10.08.2007 Homel: Police Detain Youth Activist Andrei Tsianiuta
On 9 August in the center of Homel, in Paleskaya Street, persons in mufti detained a regional leader of Young Front Andrei Tsianiuta. Later the activist found that these persons were policemen. They drew him to Chyhunachny borough police department of Homel ‘for a talk’. There they searched his belongings, found several independent media outlets (including the officially registered Nasha Niva), composed a confiscation report and a report about illegal distribution of the editions. During the confiscation they violated the process norms. Soon the activist was released.
09.08.2007 Chamber of Representatives Gives Official Answer to Belarusian Association of Journalists
On 4 July the Belarusian association of Journalists sent to the Chamber of Representatives of the National Assembly of the Republic of Belarus a request to clear some provisions of article 10 of the law On press and other media, according to which a mass media needed to have agreement of the local authorities to placement of its legal address in order to be registered.
07.08.2007 Reporters Without Borders: Alarm over Lukashenka’s Threat to Put End to Online ‘Anarchy’
Reporters Without Borders voiced deep concern about President Aliaksandr Lukashenka’s comments during a visit to the state-owned daily Ыovetskaya Belorussiya, when he said the government planned to increase its control of the Internet and ‘put an end to the anarchy’ online.
18.07.2007 Activists Released, Printed Materials Seized
Police detained the activists detained in Biaroza. However, they seized all the printed materials the activists had with them.
12.07.2007 Homel: Shop Assistants Hide Independent Press
On 11 July, when buying non-governmental press SNplus at Tamara shop of the trade republican unitary enterprise Homelablsayuzdruk (Homel regional publishing house) Homel journalist Maryia Shymanouskaya learnt from talk of the shop staff about the given order to hide the non-governmental press from the buyers.
04.07.2007 Political Prisoner Artur Finkievich Still in Open-Type Jail
The department for sentence execution declined the complaint of Artur Finkievich.
27.06.2007 Yuras Aleinik to Be Tried on July 4th
Human rights activist Aleh Hulak was removed from the courtroom
25.06.2007 Prosecutor’s Office Refuses to Bring Charges against Policemen Who Beat Civic Activist
Leninski prosecutor’s office of Mahiliou refused to bring criminal charges against police officers who beat Siarhei Hirkin
25.06.2007 Freedom House: There Is Practically No Freedom of Press in Belarus
“Of the 195 countries and territories examined in the survey, three of the 10 worst press freedom abusers — Belarus, Uzbekistan, and Turkmenistan — are found in the former Soviet Union”
