News on the topic: freedom of speech
17.09.2021 Critical vlogger given 4 years in prison over ‘slandering’ and ‘insulting’ Lukashenka and top officials
In court, Ruslan Linnik pleaded not guilty, refused to testify, and in his last statement told about the psychological and physical pressure he suffered at the hands of the security forces.
19.08.2021 Human rights defenders call to release BelaPAN employees
Statement by representatives of the Belarusian human rights community
12.07.2021 Nasha Niva journalists are political prisoners
The organizations that issued this statement believe that these actions against the staff of Nasha Niva newspaper are a continuation of the purposeful policy of the authorities to restrict the distribution of uncensored information in the country and a continuation of the assault on freedom of speech
08.07.2021 Access to media websites blocked, searches and detentions of journalists ongoing throughout Belarus
The website of Nasha Niva newspaper was blocked on July 8. Searches were conducted in the apartment of its editor-in-chief Yahor Martsinovich and in the office of the newspaper, the accounting office and the home of the editor Andrei Skurko.
09.04.2021 11 new names on list of political prisoners
Joint statement by the human rights organizations of Belarus
29.03.2021 20 new names on list of political prisoners
Joint statement by the human rights organizations of Belarus
23.12.2020 European Federation of Journalists condemns government attack on Belarus Press Club
Yulia Slutskaya, the founder of the Belarus Press Club, who is also a member of the board of the Belarusian Association of Journalists (BAJ), was detained on Tuesday on her arrival at Minsk International Airport. The European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) demands her immediate release.
08.12.2020 Belarus Escalates Crackdown on Independent Journalism
Online News Outlet TUT.BY Stripped of Media Credentials
24.10.2020 Authorities designate Telegram channel NEXTA as “extremist” in further crackdown on independent media
Around 30 human rights organisations strongly condemn the ruling by a Belarusian court to include the popular Telegram channel NEXTA in the list of “extremist” materials under Article 17.11 of the Code of Administrative Offences. The decision effectively penalises Belarusians for seeking to access independent news sources, branding those exercising their right to freedom of expression and information as ‘extremist’, and is part of a worsening crackdown on dissent.
12.10.2020 Stop pressure on the press!
Statement by Belarusian Association of Journalists, Press Club, and United Media Association
09.10.2020 Viasna site still on blacklist
Valiantsin Stefanovich, a member of the Board of the Human Rights Center "Viasna", has received an answer to his appeal to the Ministry of Information asking to explain the blocking of the human rights website spring96.org.
23.09.2020 Nasha Niva editor held on libel charges
Yahor Martsinovich, editor-in-chief of Nasha Niva, a popular online news site, was detained this morning by Belarusian security officers. His apartment was searched by the Interior Ministry’s Directorate of Internal Security.
30.08.2020 Wall of silence in Belarus: massive withdrawal of press accreditations
After the arbitrary detention of about 50 journalists on Thursday, the Belarusian authorities are stepping up the withdrawal of press accreditations for journalists covering the country’s news for foreign media. A wall of silence is gradually isolating Belarus from the rest of the world. The EFJ condemns the inaction and wait-and-see attitude of the international community.
24.08.2020 BAJ demands to unblock websites, stop pressure on media, and ensure release of publications
On Friday evening it was reported that the Ministry of Information had restricted access of Belarusian users to websites of a large number of media and political movements. Most well-known of them are Radio Svaboda, Belsat TV, Euroradio, Solidarity newspaper, Udf.by, The Village, By.tribuna.com, Vitebsk Courier, People's News of Vitebsk, Masheka.by, and the website of the Human rights center Viasna.
14.05.2020 EU, OSCE, Reporters without Borders condemn crackdown on journalists and activists in Belarus
The OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media, Harlem Désir, expressed his concerns and denounced the detention and imprisonment of journalists and freelance reporters for ‘participating in unauthorized events’ in Belarus. He called for their immediate release.
