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Articles - Belarus

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Belarus

Royal Bank of Scotland pulls out of country thanks to campaign

The Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) has announced that it will no longer engage in "any type of capital-raising" on behalf of the government of Belarus after an Index on Censorship and Free Belarus Now campaign.

Belarus

Authorities celebrate independence by cracking down on protesters

Here's how Belarus's Independence Day on 3 July was marked this year: the authorities used tear gas and arrested more than 300 journalists and anti-government protesters in Minsk and other cities, and blocked access to Facebook, Twitter and other social networking sites used by the organisers, say Reporters Without Borders (RSF), Human Rights Watch and Index on Censorship. The day marks the anniversary of the liberation of Belarus from German occupation in 1944.

Belarus

Dissidents sentenced in connection with election protests

Last week journalist Irina Khalip was given a two-year suspended sentence for "organising and participating" in the December protests against the re-election of President Alexander Lukashenko, while her husband, opposition candidate Andrei Sannikov, was sentenced to five years for his part in the election protests, report Index on Censorship, the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) and other IFEX members. While Lukashenko ramps up his attack on pro-democracy forces, the U.S. and EU have joined IFEX members in calling for the immediate and unconditional release of all political prisoners.

Belarus

Heavy restrictions for released journalists

The Belarusian security service (KGB) has released women journalists Natalya Radina and Irina Khalip, but has upheld criminal charges against them and has severely restricted their activities, report the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) and the Writers in Prison Committee of PEN International (WiPC).

Belarus

Journalists charged, police raids continue in post-election crackdown

Dozens of journalists arrested in a police crackdown on demonstrations that followed the re-election of President Alexander Lukashenko last month remain in jail, some of whom could face 15 years in jail for organising public disorder, report IFEX members and the Belarusian Association of Journalists (BAJ). Since the election, security forces have also raided the homes and offices of critical Belarusian journalists and confiscated equipment.

Belarus

Journalists and candidates beaten and arrested on election day

Tens of thousands of opposition supporters gathered in central Minsk on 19 December protesting fraud in Belarusian elections, and calling for authoritarian President Alexander Lukashenko to step down after his re-election victory that day. The demonstration was rapidly smothered by police, with hundreds of activists, journalists and opposition candidates bludgeoned with truncheons and arrested, report IFEX members and the Belarusian Association of Journalists (BAJ).

Belarus

BAJ member and leading rights activist found dead

Belarusian journalist and human rights activist Aleh Byabenin was found hanged in his country house outside of Minsk on 3 September. Police claim it was a suicide but colleagues say it was a politically motivated killing, just months before elections take place in 2011, report the Belarusian Association of Journalists (BAJ), Index on Censorship, ARTICLE 19, the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) and Reporters Without Borders (RSF). The government has carried out numerous orchestrated attacks on journalists throughout 2010.

Belarus

Internet freedom under attack

The Belarusian government is rigidly monitoring every element of Internet use and tightening its grip on independent news of any kind, report the Belarusian Association of Journalists (BAJ) and Reporters Without Borders (RSF). Authorities have established new legislation for extensive control over Internet content and access - and censorship at the highest level.

Belarus

Authorities seek to eradicate independent journalism; BAJ under attack

In the latest offensive to quash dissident Belarusian journalists, police conducted raids on independent newspapers and the homes of prominent journalists, report the Belarusian Association of Journalists (BAJ), Reporters Without Borders (RSF) and the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ). Furthermore, in a campaign to eliminate BAJ, authorities have ordered the press freedom organisation to revoke membership cards, stop providing independent journalists with legal aid, and alter language on its website.

Belarus

Greater reform needed, says mission

A delegation of press freedom organisations, including seven IFEX members, met with media groups and authorities in Minsk, on 20 to 24 September 2009, to determine the current environment of press freedom, freedom of expression and access to information, reports the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ).

Belarus

LA FIJ DEMANDE UNE RÉFORME DES MÉDIAS AU MOMENT OÙ ENTRE EN VIGUEUR UNE NOUVELLE LOI

Belarus

FIP PIDE REFORMA DE LOS MEDIOS CON OCASIÓN DE ENTRADA EN VIGOR DE NUEVA LEY

Belarus

IFJ CALLS FOR MEDIA REFORM AS NEW LAW TAKES EFFECT

The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) is supporting the Belarusian Association of Journalists (BAJ) in its call for the Belarus government to bring in radical media reforms and overturn a "divisive new law."

Belarus

A PESAR DE MANIFESTACIONES, LUKASHENKO FIRMA LEY QUE RESTRINGE A LOS MEDIOS

Belarus

EN DÉPIT DES PROTESTATIONS, LUKACHENKO RATIFIE UNE LOI RESTRICTIVE SUR LES MÉDIAS

Belarus

DESPITE PROTESTS, LUKASHENKO SIGNS RESTRICTIVE MEDIA LAW

President Alexander Lukashenko has signed into law a media bill that Reporters Without Borders (RSF) calls "extremely restrictive" and will lead to "total eradication of the independent media." Rushed through the Belarusian parliament before it adjourned in late June, the bill will take effect in six months.

Belarus

GOBIERNO ATACA NOTICIAS EN INTERNET Y MEDIOS INDEPENDIENTES

Belarus

LE GOUVERNEMENT S'EN PREND AUX NOUVELLES SUR INTERNET ET AUX MÉDIAS INDÉPENDANTS

Belarus

GOVERNMENT CRACKS DOWN ON INTERNET NEWS, INDEPENDENT MEDIA

Dozens of rights groups are urging the President of Belarus not to sign in a new media law that will impose curbs on the Internet, one of the few remaining sources of independent information left in the country.

Belarus

OFENSIVA DE AUTORIDADES CONTRA PERIODISTAS INDEPENDIENTES

Belarus

LES AUTORITÉS S'ABATTENT SUR LES JOURNALISTES INDÉPENDANTS

Belarus

AUTHORITIES CRACK DOWN ON INDEPENDENT JOURNALISTS

Press freedom groups worldwide have condemned the sudden, "unprecedented" crackdown on independent journalists by the Belarusian authorities. Reporters have been arrested and beaten and have had their homes raided in recent days, which critics term a "gross violation" of the right to free expression.

Belarus

LIBERAN A EDITOR QUE REIMPRIMIÓ LAS CARICATURAS DE MAHOMA

Belarus

EDITOR WHO REPRINTED MOHAMMED CARTOONS FREED

The Belarus Supreme Court has reduced the jail sentence from three years to three months for an editor who reprinted the controversial Danish cartoons of the Prophet Mohammed.

Belarus

EDITOR ENCARCELADO POR CARICATURAS DE PROFETA MAHOMA

Belarus

UN RÉDACTEUR EST INCARCÉRÉ EN RAPPORT AVEC LES CARICATURES DU PROPHÈTE MAHOMET

Belarus

EDITOR JAILED OVER PROPHET MOHAMMED CARTOONS

An editor in Belarus was sentenced to three years in jail last week for reprinting the controversial Danish cartoons of the Prophet Mohammed, report the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), the Organization for Security and Cooperation and Europe (OSCE) and the Belarusian Association of Journalists (BAJ).

Belarus

LA LIBRE EXPRESIÓN SE DETERIORA EN BIELORRUSIA, ENCUENTRA MISIÓN

Belarus

LA LIBRE EXPRESSION SE DÉTÉRIORE AU BÉLARUS, CONSTATE UNE MISSION

Belarus

FREE EXPRESSION DETERIORATING IN BELARUS, MISSION FINDS

The government of Belarus has failed to make progress in improving free expression conditions over the past two and a half years, even further stifling journalists and writers, Norwegian PEN and the International Publishers Association (IPA) found on a mission to the country last month. And the European Union should not engage with Belarus until improvements have been made, the mission report says.

Belarus

JÓVENES AMORDAZAN ESTATUAS EN TODA EUROPA PARA APOYAR LIBRE EXPRESIÓN EN BIELORRUSIA

Belarus

À TRAVERS L'EUROPE, DES JEUNES BÂILLONNENT DES STATUES POUR ATTIRER L'ATTENTION SUR LA LIBRE EXPRESSION AU BÉLARUS

Belarus

YOUTHS GAG STATUES ACROSS EUROPE FOR FREE EXPRESSION IN BELARUS

20 March 2007

Belarus

FIP INICIA CAMPAÑA PARA PONER FIN A IMPUNIDAD EN ASESINATO DE PERIODISTA

Belarus

LA FIJ LANCE UNE CAMPAGNE POUR METTRE FIN À L'IMPUNITÉ ENTOURANT LE MEURTRE D'UNE JOURNALISTE

Belarus

IFJ LAUNCHES CAMPAIGN TO END IMPUNITY IN JOURNALIST'S MURDER

Two years after Belarusian journalist Veronika Cherkasova was brutally stabbed in her Minsk apartment on 20 October 2004, her murder remains unsolved. The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) and the Belarusian Association of Journalists (BAJ) have now launched a campaign to end the impunity surrounding her case.

Belarus

ARTICLE 19 INVESTIGA LEYES DE DIFAMACIÓN EN BIELORRUSIA, MOLDOVA Y UCRANIA

Belarus

FIP DOCUMENTA REPRESIÓN DE MEDIOS EN BIELORRUSIA

Belarus

LA FIJ DOCUMENTE LA RÉPRESSION DES MÉDIAS DU BÉLARUS

Belarus

IFJ DOCUMENTS REPRESSION OF BELARUSIAN MEDIA

In the decade since Belarusian President Aleksandr Lukashenko assumed power, his government has created a climate of repression that has all but stifled the country's independent media, a new report by the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) concludes.

Belarus

UN GRAND NOMBRE DE JOURNALISTES SONT DÉTENUS APRÈS LES ÉLECTIONS

Belarus

VEINTENAS DE PERIODISTAS AGREDIDOS DESPUÉS DE ELECCIONES

Belarus

SCORES OF JOURNALISTS DETAINED AFTER ELECTIONS

In Belarus, at least 20 local and foreign journalists are being held in jail after covering opposition protests in the wake of the recent presidential elections, report Canadian Journalists for Free Expression (CJFE), the World Association of Newspapers (WAN), the International Press Institute (IPI), the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), Reporters Without Borders (Reporters sans frontières, RSF) and the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ).

Belarus

À L'APPROCHE DU SCRUTIN, LES MESURES DE RÉPRESSION CONTRE LES MÉDIAS PRENNENT DE L'AMPLEUR

Belarus

LAS RESTRICCIONES CONTRA LOS MEDIOS SE INTENSIFICAN A MEDIDA QUE SE ACERCA VOTACIÓN

Belarus

CLAMPDOWN ON MEDIA INTENSIFIES AS VOTE NEARS

IFEX members are calling attention to escalating repression against the media in Belarus as the country's voters prepare to head to the polls to elect a new president on 19 March 2006. They say the government under President Aleksandr Lukashenko is depriving voters of independent news about candidates by confiscating opposition newspapers, intimidating local reporters and photographers, and preventing foreign journalists from reporting.

Belarus

LOUKACHENKO RESSERRE SON ÉTREINTE SUR LES CRITIQUES

Belarus

LUKASHENKO ESTRECHA CONTROL SOBRE CRÍTICOS

Belarus

LUKASHENKO TIGHTENS GRIP ON CRITICS

Belarus is widely regarded as one of the last remaining outposts of authoritarianism in Europe, ruled since 1994 by President Aleksander Lukashenko. The press is tightly controlled by the state and independent media are frequently harassed, legally sanctioned and attacked for criticising the president.

Belarus

CERTAINS MEMBRES DE L'IFEX INSISTENT POUR QU'ON OUVRE UNE ENQUÊTE SUR LA MORT D'UN JOURNALISTE

Belarus

MIEMBROS DE IFEX PIDEN INVESTIGACIÓN DE MUERTE DE PERIODISTA

Belarus

IFEX MEMBERS URGE PROBE OF JOURNALIST'S DEATH

The International Press Institute (IPI), Reporters Without Borders (Reporters sans frontières, RSF) and the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) have called on Belarusian authorities to investigate whether the death of a journalist last week was linked to his work.

Belarus

LOUKACHENKO S'ATTAQUE AUX JOURNALISTES À L'OCCASION D'UN DIFFÉREND AVEC LA POLOGNE

Belarus

LUKASHENKO INICIA OFENSIVA CONTRA PERIODISTAS EN PELEA CON POLONIA

Belarus

LUKASHENKO CRACKS DOWN ON JOURNALISTS IN ROW WITH POLAND

The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ), the Committee to The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ), the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), the International Press Institute, (IPI) and Reporters Without Borders (Reporters sans frontières, RSF) have condemned the Belarusian government for targeting journalists of Polish origin amid an escalating diplomatic row between Belarus and Poland.

Belarus

LA LIBERTÉ DE LA PRESSE SE DÉTÉRIORE AU BÉLARUS, DIT L'OSCE

Belarus

LIBERTAD DE PRENSA IN BIELORRUSIA SE DETERIORA: OSCE

Belarus

PRESS FREEDOM IN BELARUS DETERIORATING: OSCE

Press freedom conditions in Belarus have been deteriorating in recent years due to government pressure on independent media, according to a new report by the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe's (OSCE) media watchdog.

Belarus

LE PEN DE NORVÈGE PRÉPARE UNE MISSION AU BÉLARUS

Belarus

PEN NORUEGO PLANEA MISIÓN A BIELORRUSIA

Belarus

NORWEGIAN PEN PLANS MISSION TO BELARUS

Norwegian PEN is planning to lead a delegation of writers and publishers to Belarus in February 2005 to strengthen support for colleagues in the former Soviet republic. The IFEX member will visit the country from 15 to 20 February and meet with representatives from the Belarusian Association of Journalists (BAJ) and the Belarusian PEN Centre.

Belarus

PERIODISTAS DE BIELORRUSIA GANA PREMIO SAJAROV

Belarus

DES JOURNALISTES DU BÉLARUS REMPORTENT LE PRIX SAKHAROV

Belarus

BELARUSIAN JOURNALISTS WIN SAKHAROV PRIZE

The European Parliament has awarded the 2004 Sakharov Prize to the Belarusian Association of Journalists (BAJ) in recognition of the organisation's work in championing independent media.

Belarus

REPORTERA ASESINADA, OTROS GOLPEADOS

Belarus

UNE JOURNALISTE EST ASSASSINÉE, D'AUTRES SONT PASSÉS À TABAC

Belarus

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.

Belarus

LOUKACHENKO SERRE LA VIS AUX MÉDIAS

Belarus

LUKASHENKO APRIETA TORNILLOS A MEDIOS

Belarus

LUKASHENKO TIGHTENS SCREWS ON MEDIA

As Belarusians vote in a referendum this week to decide whether President Alexander Lukashenko can seek a third term in office in 2006, IFEX members are calling attention to serious restrictions on press freedom in the country.

Belarus

LE PEN LANCE UNE CAMPAGNE ÉPISTOLAIRE

Belarus

PEN INICIA CAMPAÑA DE ENVÍO DE CARTAS

Belarus

PEN LAUNCHES LETTER-WRITING CAMPAIGN

The Writers in Prison Committee of International PEN (WiPC) has launched a campaign to focus attention on the deterioration of free-expression conditions in Belarus. From 12 November to 10 December, 2003, the organisation is calling on PEN Centres and free-expression supporters to write letters to the Belarusian government.

Belarus

RSF ADVIERTE DE EMPEORAMIENTO DE LIBERTAD DE PRENSA

Belarus

RSF MET EN GARDE CONTRE LA DÉTÉRIORATION DE LA LIBERTÉ DE LA PRESSE

Belarus

RSF WARNS OF WORSENING PRESS FREEDOM

Press-freedom conditions in Belarus are worsening, with independent newspapers under threat as never before, warns Reporters Without Borders (Reporters sans frontières, RSF). The organisation says at least 10 publications have been suspended, prevented from publishing or refused official registration since January 2003.

Belarus

WAN AWARDS GOLDEN PEN OF FREEDOM TO JOURNALISTS

The World Association of Newspapers (WAN) presented its 2003 Golden Pen of Freedom award last week to the Belarusian Association of Journalists (BAJ), praising the organisation for its courageous resistance to President Aleksandr Lukashenko's repression of the media. The presentation was made at WAN's 56th World Newspaper Congress in Dublin.

Belarus

NUEVA LEY RESTRINGE PUBLICACIONES RELIGIOSAS

Belarus

UNE NOUVELLE LOI RESTREINT LES PUBLICATIONS RELIGIEUSES

Belarus

NEW LAW RESTRICTS RELIGIOUS PUBLICATIONS

ARTICLE 19 and Freedom House have expressed concern over a law the Belarusian government passed earlier this month giving the state powers to shut down religious publications and impose tighter restrictions on the publication and distribution of religious material.

Belarus

ARTICLE 19 TIENDRA UN SÉMINAIRE SUR LA SURVEILLANCE DE SCRUTIN

Belarus

ARTICLE 19 CELEBRARÁ SEMINARIO DE VIGILANCIA DE ELECCIONES

Belarus

ARTICLE 19 TO HOLD ELECTION-MONITORING SEMINAR

ARTICLE 19 is planning to hold a seminar in Belarus next month on the role of the media in local elections. Held jointly with the Council of Europe and the Belarussian Journalists Association, the seminar will take place in Minsk from 26-27 September. It will introduce local journalists to freedom-of-expression principles and international standards regarding election reporting.

Belarus

LES JOURNALISTES SONT LA CIBLE DES LOIS SUR LA DIFFAMATION

Belarus

USAN LEYES DE DIFAMACIÓN PARA ATACAR A PERIODISTAS

Belarus

JOURNALISTS TARGETED BY DEFAMATION LAWS

The use of defamation laws to silence journalists critical of Belarusian president Aleksandr Lukashenko has come under scrutiny following the recent sentencing of two reporters from the independent weekly newspaper "Pahonya." The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), International Press Institute (IPI) and ARTICLE 19 are drawing attention to the 24 June conviction of Mikola Markevich and Paval Mazheika for defaming the president. They were sentenced to up to 2 ½ years of hard labour.

Belarus

GOBIERNO ADOPTA LEY ANTITERRORISMO

Belarus

LE GOUVERNEMENT ADOPTE UNE LOI ANTITERRORISTE

Belarus

GOVERNMENT ADOPTS ANTI-TERRORISM LAW

Belarus has adopted a new anti-terrorism law which gives its government powers to conduct raids on journalists, arrest demonstrators and prevent media from reporting on matters of public interest, warns ARTICLE 19.

Belarus

ARTICLE 19 PUBLICA INFORME CON MALOS PRESAGIOS ANTES DE REELECCIÓN DE LUKASHENKO

Belarus

ARTICLE 19 PUBLIE UN RAPPORT PRÉMONITOIRE AU MOMENT DE LA RÉÉLECTION DE LOUKACHE

Belarus

ARTICLE 19 ISSUES OMINOUS REPORT AS LUKASHENKO RE-ELECTED

A report released by ARTICLE 19 on the eve of the Belarus presidential election has proven to be prescient in its analysis of the country's press conditions. While 75 per cent of electors returned incumbent Alexander Lukashenko to power on 7 September 2001, observers said the electoral process "failed to meet international standards," reports the BBC.

Belarus

AL APROXIMARSE ELECCIONES; AUTORIDADES IMPLICADAS EN DESAPARICIÓN DE CAMARÓGRAFO

Belarus

LES AUTORITÉS SONT IMPLIQUÉES DANS LA DISPARITION D?UN CAMÉRAMAN

Belarus

AS ELECTIONS APPROACH; AUTHORITIES IMPLICATED IN CAMERAMAN'S DISAPPEARANCE

The deterioration of freedom of expression is a serious obstacle to free and fair elections in Belarus, according to a new report from ARTICLE 19. The document, entitled "The Mechanics of Repression", examines the prospects for a level playing field in the presidential elections scheduled for 9 September.

Belarus

ALARMANTE NUEVA LEY ESTRECHARÍA CONTROL DE INFORMACIÓN

Belarus

SUSCITE L?INQUIÉTUDE PARCE QU?ELLE RENFORCE LE CONTRÔLE DE L?INFORMATION

Belarus

ALARMING NEW LAW WOULD TIGHTEN INFORMATION CONTROL

The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) and ARTICLE 19 are expressing alarm at a new draft law on information security in Belarus. "The law says very little about the citizen's right to access to information, but makes detailed and complex provisions on how to control information in all forms of media," states IFJ, whose member organisation in Belarus, the Belarus Association of Journalists (BAJ), also strongly opposes the law. Of particular concern to IFJ is a plan to establish special authorities with the power to deal with vaguely-defined "harmful information." IFJ fears that legitimate media criticism of the authorities and others could be stifled.

Belarus

LA POLICE ARRÊTE DES DIZAINES DE JOURNALISTES ET DE MANIFESTANTS

Belarus

POLICE ARREST DOZENS OF JOURNALISTS AND DEMONSTRATORS

On 25 March, over 30 Belarusian and foreign journalists were arrested by riot police at a demonstration organised by the opposition in Minsk, say the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) and Reporters sans frontières (RSF) based on reports from the Belarusian Association of Journalists (BAJ). The demonstration commemorated the 82nd anniversary of the Belarusian National Republic in Minsk. According to BAJ, police destroyed equipment and exposed journalists' film, preventing the latter from reporting on the event. Police also illegally searched journalists, forbid journalists from contacting their offices or families while being detained, and gave no explanation for the arrests. Accredited journalists with Russian TV stations were treated with particular brutality, reports BAJ. 200 demonstrators, including three Polish parliamentary observers and a US OSCE representative, were also arrested.

Belarus

POLICÍA ARRESTA A DOCENAS DE PERIODISTAS Y MANIFESTANTES

Belarus

LES JOURNAUX INDÉPENDANTS SONT MENACÉS

Belarus

PERIÓDICOS INDEPENDIENTES AMENAZADOS

Belarus

INDEPENDENT NEWSPAPERS THREATENED

The independent media is under threat in Belarus, report the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) and the Belarusian Association of Journalists (BAJ), a member of IFJ. According to the IFJ, the State Committee for Press of Belarus has issued warnings to six independent newspapers, "Belorusskaya Delovaya Gazeta", "Nasha Niva", "Naviny", "Narodnaya Volya", "Pahonya" and "Svobodnye Novosti" for violating the press law, allegedly for "calling for the seizure of power." The allegations arise out of publications relating to presidential elections, scheduled for 16 May 1999. According to BAJ, none of the accused newspapers "published such information." On 17 February, BAJ organized a press conference in Minsk, at which editors from the independent media which were sanctioned "stated that despite the pressure, the newspapers will continue to inform the public about political developments, including everything which deals with presidential elections."