27 October 2004
REPORTER MURDERED, OTHERS BEATEN
A week after the President of Belarus, Alexander Lukashenko, won a controversial referendum that allows him to extend his term in office, IFEX members are raising serious concerns over press freedom conditions in the country. Last week, a journalist was stabbed to death in her home and several others were beaten while covering demonstrations against the government.
On 20 October 2004, Veronika Cherkasova was found stabbed to death in her apartment in Minsk, reported the International Press Institute (IPI), the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ), Reporters Without Borders (Reporters sans frontières, RSF) and the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ).
Cherkasova's body was found with 20 stab wounds. A journalist for the independent newspaper Solidarnost ("Solidarity"), she mainly covered social and cultural news but occasionally wrote about politically sensitive issues such as drug abuse.
Police found no evidence of a break-in, and nothing was taken from the apartment, according to local reports. They have not ruled out the possibility that she was killed because of her work as a journalist, as she had been collecting material for an article on religious sects in Belarus. A colleague at "Solidarnost" also told CPJ that four months ago, Cherkasova had written a series of articles outlining the Belarusian Security Services' surveillance methods used to monitor civilians' activities.
Meanwhile, journalist Pavel Sheremet was physically assaulted on 17 October, the day Belarusians voted in a referendum to decide whether Lukashenko could extend his term in office. He suffered a concussion and was hospitalized. Police charged him with hooliganism.
On 19 October, several other journalists were physically assaulted while covering a peaceful opposition protest against the referendum result, according to RSF and CPJ. Camera operators from Russia's NTV and REN-TV stations had their equipment destroyed. Several foreign reporters said they were prevented from relaying footage of the referendum to viewers abroad.
The government claims that 77 per cent of voters supported extending Lukashenko's term to 2006. However, the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) says the Belarusian government failed to ensure conditions for a fair vote in the referendum.
Visit:
- IPI: http://www.freemedia.at/Protests2004/Belarus21.10.04.htm
- IFJ: http://www.ifj.org/default.asp?Index=2753&Language=EN
- RSF: http://www.rsf.org/article.php3?id_article=11681
- CPJ: http://www.cpj.org/news/2004/Belarus21oct04na.html
- Freedom House: http://www.freedomhouse.org/media/pressrel/101404.htm
- OSCE Report on Belarus Referendum: http://www.osce.org/odihr/elections/field_activities/?election=2004belarus
Also from the Communiqué, 27 October 2004
INTERNATIONAL: CJFE, CPJ TO HONOUR PRESS FREEDOM HEROES 26 October 2004 BURMA: HARDLINERS CRACK DOWN ON PUBLICATIONS 27 October 2004 NORTH KOREA: NORTH KOREA RANKED WORLD'S WORST COUNTRY FOR JOURNALISTS 27 October 2004 MOROCCO: ANTI-TERRORISM LAW UNDERMINES HUMAN RIGHTS 27 October 2004 LIBERIA: LIBERIAN GOVERNMENT URGED TO REFORM MEDIA LAWS 27 October 2004 SOUTH AFRICA: FXI WARNS OF THREATS TO FREE EXPRESSION IN SOUTH AFRICA 27 October 2004 TOGO: TOGOLESE JOURNALISTS URGE EU VIGILANCE ON MEDIA REFORMS 27 October 2004 INTERNATIONAL: JUSTICE INITIATIVE HUMAN RIGHTS FELLOWS PROGRAMME 27 October 2004Belarus
Journalist and political activist Dimitry Bondarenko released 19 April 2012 Serious concern over health of political prisoner 12 April 2012
Writer loses appeal, sentenced to 4 years in labour camp
6 March 2012
Independent reporter imprisoned
10 January 2012
Authorities tighten grip on the Internet
6 January 2012
See all alerts: Belarus
RSS