BAJ head says pressure on Minsk may help jailed journalists

May 3, Pozirk. Raising the topic of Belarus at the international level, talking about jailed journalists and lobbying for pressure on authorities in Minsk may help overcome challenges that the Belarusian media sector is facing, said Andrej Bastuniec, head of the Belarusian Association of Journalists (BAJ).
This year, Belarus ranked 167th of 180 assessed countries and territories in the Reporters Without Borders (RSF) World Press Freedom Index, turning into the worst ex-Soviet country for journalists after Turkmenistan, he noted.
On World Press Freedom Day, the BAJ head expressed solidarity with journalists in captivity at an event in Lithuania’s Vilnius with his Belarusian and Lithuanian colleagues participating.
Jailed journalists, like all people imprisoned in politically-motivated cases, face a lot of pressure and “enormous challenges” behind bars, he said. “We must remember them and provide all possible assistance [including] for their families.”
At least 43 media workers remain behind bars in Belarus, according to the RSF.

Belarus down 10 places in RSF’s press freedom ranking
- PoliticsCoordination Council supports setting up tribunal on aggression against UkraineThe material is available only to POZIRK+
- PoliticsViasna releases update on reprisals in BelarusThe material is available only to POZIRK+
- PoliticsJailed lawyer asks Lithuanian president to swap him for Belarus’ prisonersThe material is available only to POZIRK+
- PoliticsPro-government MP calls on emigrants to assault opposition politiciansThe material is available only to POZIRK+
- Politics, SecurityMigration crisis tested Poland’s defense capability – DudaThe material is available only to POZIRK+
- PoliticsUkraine, Russia hold new prisoner swap in BelarusThe material is available only to POZIRK+
- PoliticsOSCE group: Belarus must end crackdown on opponentsThe material is available only to POZIRK+
- PoliticsUN expert urges Minsk to speed up release of jailed dissidentsThe material is available only to POZIRK+
- PoliticsBelarus', Russia's PMs discuss integration in phone callThe material is available only to POZIRK+
- Politics
- Economy, PoliticsEU court upholds sanctions on Belarusian chemical plantsThe material is available only to POZIRK+
- PoliticsIrregular Belarus-EU crossings surge 62 percent in January-June from H2 2024The material is available only to POZIRK+
- PoliticsCichanoŭskaja's aide discusses political prisoners at UN human rights officeThe material is available only to POZIRK+
- Politics
- Politics, SocietyReprisals: 26 persecuted in Biełaruski Hajun caseThe material is available only to POZIRK+
- PoliticsAt least 1,944 NGOs dissolved since August 2020 – LawtrendThe material is available only to POZIRK+
- Politics
- EconomyBotswana’s foreign minister invites investment from Belarus, playing up benefits of peaceful power transferThe material is available only to POZIRK+
- SocietyProsecutor appeals convicted Belarusian spy’s sentenceThe material is available only to POZIRK+
- PoliticsOpposition social security chief decries forced deportation of pardoned prisonersThe material is available only to POZIRK+