Crackdown on media, journalists unabated in 2022 – BAJ report

January 23, BPN. In 2022, Belarusian authorities continued a systematic crackdown on media and journalists, says an annual report by the Belarusian Association of Journalists (BAJ).

Authorities introduced censorship and used extremism legislation to limit the influence of independent media, it noted.

Last year, authorities blacklisted a total of 1,500 social media accounts as extremist content and branded nine independent media outlets as extremist groups, which led to mass persecution of people who shared content online.

Defense analyst Jahor Lebiadok was accused of facilitating extremist activities for an interview that he had given Euroradio, a Poland-based Belarusian radio station, before it was designated as extremist content by Belarusian authorities.

Belarusian courts delivered guilty verdicts in 17 criminal cases targeting journalists and media workers with a maximum sentence of 14 years in prison. In late 2022, 33 media workers were behind bars.

BAJ also recorded 43 arrests of journalists, 55 searches, and 20 short jail sentences.