17.04.2009 Independent journalist arrested and beaten for taking photos of fire in police department building

Uladzimir Hrydzin, photographer and member of the Belarusian Association of Journalists, was detained as he was taking pictures of a fire in the building of Pershamaiski Police Department in Minsk on 16 April. According to the journalist, shortly after he started taking pictures of the burning building he was approached by a plainclothes person and ordered to stop shooting. Then, several other plainclothes persons twisted his arms and took him to the police department where they confiscated the camera and deleted the photos. After that the photographer was released. Mr.Hrydzin says he is going to lodge a complaint against the arrest with Pershamaiski Prosecutor’s Office to prosecute the offenders.

14.04.2009 ‘Bobruysky Kurier’ won’t be sold at postal offices

Babruisk city department of Belposhta (Belarusian Post) postal service enterprise broke the agreement with the non-state newspaper Bobruysky Kurier newspaper, as a result of which it won’t be sold at the local post offices any more.

13.04.2009 Information Ministry rules that ‘Astravetski Vesnik’ must be destroyed

‘The copies of Astravetski Vesnik must be destroyed’, ruled the deputy minister of information Ihar Laptsionak.

07.04.2009 Babruisk: prosecutor’s office refuses to bring a criminal case concerning repressions against ‘Bobruiskiy Kurier’

The prosecutor considered the complaint of Anatol Sanatsenka (chief editor of the non-state newspaper Bobruisky Kurier) and found no corpus delicti in the actions of officers of Babruisk town executive committee.

23.03.2009 Volnaye Hlybokaye independent newspaper denied right to post subscription

Uladzimer Skrabutan, editor-in-chief of the Volnaye Hlybokaye independent newspaper, has received a letter from the administration of the Belposhta state postal enterprise, saying that the newspaper would not be enrolled on the nation-wide subscription list due to ‘inexpediency.’ According to Mr.Skrabutan, the decision was caused by ‘personal unwillingness’ of the Belarusian postal monopoly to make a contract with the disloyal newspaper.

09.03.2009 Assembly of pro-democratic NGOs calls the authorities to stop the abuse of the law On counteraction to extremism

On 6-7 March the 6th assembly of pro-democratic NGOs of Belarus was held at the international educational center (IBB) in Minsk. The aim of the forum was to analyze the situation in the third sector, the juridical situation of NGOs and elaborate and adopt the strategy of the Assembly’s activities for the near future.

04.03.2009 Another warning for ‘BelSat’

The member of the Belarusian Association of Journalists from Homel Aleh Razhkou received by mail an official warning from Homel oblast prosecutor’s office for ‘journalist activities in favor of the Polish satellite TV channel BelSat’.

04.03.2009 Belarusian MFA didn’t register ‘Belsat’ TV channel

The Ministry of Foreign Affaires of Belarus denied registration to Minsk bureau of the Belsat TV channel.

03.03.2009 Belarusian MFA deny accreditation to another journalist of Radio Racyja

The commission of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on accreditation of foreign mass media refused to accredit Ivan Roman as the correspondent of Radio Racyja in Hrodna.

27.02.2009 Judge orders two issues of cultural magazine seized and destroyed

Reporters Without Borders condemns yesterday’s decision by judge Tatsiana Miranyuk of a district court in the western city of Brest to order the immediate seizure and destruction of the seventh and eighth issues of the opposition cultural magazine Arche on the grounds that their content was “extremist”.

“We are again confronted by an absurd logic,” Reporters Without Borders said. “The administrative and judicial harassment of Arche since its creation in 1997 is a sad reminder of what went on under Soviet domination. It does not bode well for the progress in press freedom we had been hoping for. We express our support for the magazine’s founder, Andrei Dynko, and its editor, Valer Bulhakau, and we urge the judicial authorities to reconsider this decision.”

26.02.2009 Barysau ideologist hinders sale of ‘Borisovskie Novosti’

Barysau ideologist Liudmila Harnak does not let the local entrepreneurs to sell the non-state regional newspaper Borisovskie Novisti.

25.02.2009 Zhanna Litvina comments on the ARCHE extremism case

"The decision taken today by a court in Brest can be compared in its odiousness with the notorious events of 27 March 2008, when KGB officers conducted searches in journalists" flats all around the country. Now KGB takes upon itself the censorship functions. This is a serious infringement of the freedom of expression and the hallmark of disrespect to the right of citizens to receive information," the Chairperson of BAJ Zhanna Litvina commented about the ARCHE magazine "extremism case".

25.02.2009 Journalists banned from cooperating with Belsat TV channel

Member of the Belarusian Association of Journalist Tatsyana Bublikava was called to the prosecutor’s office of the Homel region on February 24.

She was warned there she can’t cooperate with foreign media without accreditation according to part 4 of article 35 of the new law on media.

As Bublikava told BelaPAN, she was said that two citizen had appealed the prosecutor’s office with a demand to check the journalist, who allegedly cooperated with Polish satellite channel Belsat. Bublikava was given printouts from the website for November 22, 2008. One of the materials contained a comment of director of Homel Drama Theatre Valyantsina Maiseenka about the city festival. According to prosecution officers, the head of the theatre complained that Bublikava hadn’t warned her that the material would appear in Polish media.

25.02.2009 Issue of ARCHE magazine found “extremist”

Today morning a trial has started in Brest. It is to recognize the 7-8th issue of the independent “ARCHE” magazine extremist.

Judge has announced that the session of the court is to be held behind the closed doors, so only a KGB representative and the lawyer of the magazine are present at the hearings.

People who have gathered to support the magazine and its editors haven’t been allowed to be present in the court room.

As a result, the issue number 7-8 of “ARCHE” has been recognized extremist. Judge hadn’t asked any questions. Lawyer Pavel Sapelka states that the ruling is illegal.

24.02.2009 Anti-nuclear power plant newspaper launched in Hrodna region

According to Mikola Ulasevich, leader of the public campaign ‘Astravets nuclear power plant is a crime’, there has appeared the first issue of the Astravetski vesnik newspaper. The newspaper is not registered and will be issued in 299 copies, which is not forbidden by the law. The first issue covers the possible construction of a nuclear power plant outside the town of Astravets, Hrodna region. The activists claim that a nuclear power plant should not be constructed in the earthquake-prone area of Belarus. Besides they stress that the construction of a nuclear power plant in the post-Chernobyl Belarus is a crime, which will eventually result in another irreparable global disaster.