Security agency strips Belarusian Association of Journalists of domain name

January 3, Pozirk. The Operational and Analytical Center (OAC), a Belarusian agency in charge of information security, has removed the baj.by domain name from the Belarusian Association of Journalists (BAJ) citing alleged violations.
Access to the website is currently limited by the information ministry, the BAJ said, warning users that it lost control over the baj.by and baj.by emails. Since May 2023, the BAJ website is available at baj.media.
Authorities acted as thieves violating property rights, said Barys Harecki, deputy chair at the BAJ. The baj.by website had been promoting media freedom and high standards of journalism for almost 20 years while authorities assaulted the freedom of expression, he stressed.
Independent media will continue providing Belarusians with reliable sources of information, Harecki added.
The BAJ will not allow the authorities to legitimize reprisals, censorship and pressure on independent media, he noted.
The BAJ also intends to report the incident to the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) for “an appropriate assessment” as the seizure of domain names discredits Bynet making it dangerous for independent media and businesses, Harecki said.
In late December, authorities deprived the late media tycoon Juryj Zisier’s family of the tut.by and affiliated domain names.
- PoliticsBelarus adds 23 to extremist listThe material is available only to POZIRK+
- PoliticsLithuania has temporarily reinstated protection for CichanoŭskajaThe material is available only to POZIRK+
- Politics, SecurityLithuania designates 26 restricted airspace areasThe material is available only to POZIRK+
- Politics, SocietySupreme Court finds man who died in 1997 guilty of genocideThe material is available only to POZIRK+
- Politics“Our goal is to make the European perspective realistic,” Cichanoŭskaja tells envoysThe material is available only to POZIRK+
- PoliticsUCP leader Kazłoŭ leaves BelarusThe material is available only to POZIRK+
- Economy, SocietyBelarus’ high prison population adversely impacts demographics, economist warnsThe material is available only to POZIRK+
- Politics, SocietyBelarusian community in Poland exceeds 145,000The material is available only to POZIRK+
- Economy
- PoliticsKyiv uncovers Ukrainian conscripts’ escape route to BelarusThe material is available only to POZIRK+
- PoliticsCardinal Gugerotti to visit Belarus next weekThe material is available only to POZIRK+
- EconomyBiełstat: industrial inventories up 36 percent in January-SeptemberThe material is available only to POZIRK+
- Politics
- PoliticsŁatuška praises OSCE fact-finding mechanism for exposing transnational repressionThe material is available only to POZIRK+
- Politics
- PoliticsReprisals: new political prisoner designations, censorship, special probeThe material is available only to POZIRK+
- Politics, SecurityNumber of Belarusian asylum applicants in Poland rises tenfold in four yearsThe material is available only to POZIRK+
- EconomyGDP grows by 1.6 percent in Q1–3, Biełstat saysThe material is available only to POZIRK+
- EconomyFarmers to get paid higher bonuses in first two years of employment after graduationThe material is available only to POZIRK+
- PoliticsŁukašenka schedules people’s assembly for DecemberThe material is available only to POZIRK+