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IFJ, EFJ call on Minsk to stop criminalizing journalism
August 7, Pozirk. The International and European Federations of Journalists (IFJ-EFJ) have issued a joint statement, calling on Minsk to end the criminalization of journalists and secure the immediate and unconditional release of all those imprisoned for doing their jobs.
Alaksandar Łukašenka’s regime has been intensifying a crackdown on the press even six years after the 2020 postelection protests, handing out disproportionate prison sentences to journalists and intimidating and harassing exiled reporters, they noted.
As of August 2026, 21 media workers are held behind bars in Belarus for political reasons, including individuals with serious illnesses or advanced age, such as journalist Kirył Paźniak, who was hospitalized in May due to pneumonia and Covid-19 while in pre-trial detention.
“The persecutions do not stop at the border, and journalists in exile continue to be intimidated,” the statement reads. “In recent years, Belarus has actively persecuted independent journalists who have been forced to flee the country.”
Political pressure left exiled Belarusian journalists unable to renew expired passports, creating difficulties in their host countries, including the European Union, Ukraine and Georgia, it said, noting that the use of bureaucratic obstacles violates journalists’ right to work freely.
Belarusian authorities also violate the basic civil rights of imprisoned and exiled journalists, IFJ-EFJ said. The statement reaffirmed support for the exiled Belarusian Association of Journalists, called for an end to harassment of reporters in Belarus and urged immediate and unconditional release of all imprisoned media workers.
Many independent media outlets were branded extremist groups for political reasons in Belarus after the disputed 2020 presidential election. Belarusian authorities routinely use terrorism and extremism designations to silence critical voices.
Supreme Court rejects appeal by media manager Janukievič
June 9, Pozirk. The Supreme Court upheld the 14-year prison sentence imposed on media manager Uładzimir Janukievič, who was convicted of high treason earlier this year, the Belarusian Association of Journalists reported. His associate Andrej Pakalenka’s sentence on similar charges …
