Reporters Without Borders blast Tut.by editor trial

January 14, BPN. Reporters Without Borders (RSF) condemned the “travesty of justice” against Tut.by editor in chief Maryna Zołatava, demanding that she should be immediately released.

“How can an editor who is respected for her professionalism pose a ‘threat to national security’ in Belarus?” the head of RSF’s Eastern Europe and Central Asia desk said on January 13.

Jeanne Cavelier said Zołatava was forced to defend herself against ridiculous accusations in a closed-door trial before “a court that takes its orders from the government.”

“This judicial circus must end. RSF calls for the release of this leading Belarusian journalist, who has disgracefully been labelled a ‘terrorist,’” Cavelier added.

Zołatava and her boss Ludmila Čekina went on trial in a Minsk court on January 9, accused of tax evasion, incitement to hatred and calls to undermine national security. Reprisals against them and other staff of Tut.by, Belarus’ popular current affairs website crushed by the authorities, are widely seen as politically motivated.

RSF recalled that Belarus ranks 153rd in its press freedom list and keeps about 30 journalists behind bars.