BAJ Objects to Ashmiany Court Verdict on ‘Extremism’ in ‘Press Photo Belarus 2011’ Photo Album
The Belarusian Association of Journalists has sharply objected to the decision of Ashmiany District Court on recognizing the ‘Press Photo Belarus 2011’ photo album as an extremist material.
The BAJ leadership has addressed to the public with a special statement apropos of the court verdict.
Statement
The Belarusian Association of Journalists expresses disagreement with a ruling of Ashmiany District Court, dated April 18, 2013, on recognizing the ‘Press Photo Belarus 2011’ photo album as an extremist material.
As noted before (http://baj.by/be/node/20447), the mere fact of considering the case in court looked absurd. It is not the album contents, but the trial that can ‘undermine confidence in government authorities’. Hopefully, the court verdict won’t come into legal force and the Republic of Belarus won’t appear on the ‘black list’ of states that ban and destroy artistic publications.
At the same time, we are convinced that the Belarusian journalists will continue to perform their professional duties, despite the desire of ideological ‘vertical’ representatives to reflect the Belarusian reality through rose-colored glasses.
We are fully confident that the Belarusian press photo will remain to be a persuasive photo document, depicting the real life of Belarusian society.
