{"id":128730,"date":"2025-03-05T17:57:55","date_gmt":"2025-03-05T14:57:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/news\/128730\/"},"modified":"2026-02-24T20:40:57","modified_gmt":"2026-02-24T20:40:57","slug":"belarus-europes-leader-in-imprisoned-journalists-report","status":"publish","type":"articles","link":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/news\/128730\/","title":{"rendered":"Belarus Europe’s leader in imprisoned journalists \u2013 report"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

March 5, Pozirk.<\/em><\/strong> According to partner organizations of the Safety of Journalists Platform, Belarus remained a European leader in the number of imprisoned journalists in 2024.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Their report says the country had 44 such journalists on December 31.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Among them was Belarusian media manager Andrej Alaksandra\u016d\u2014justices sentenced him to 14 years in prison in a high-profile “BelaPAN<\/em> case” after his arrest in January 2021.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A similar report for 2023 documented 37 jailed reporters, also the highest level in Europe. Thus, the number increased by 18.9 percent year over year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

At the end of last year, 30 journalists were imprisoned in Azerbaijan, 29 in Russia, 28 in the occupied territories of Ukraine, 27 in Turkey, and one in Georgia.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Council of Europe’s platform cites persistent impunity for the murder of journalists, mentioning Aleh Biabienin. The founder and head of the Charter-97<\/em> portal was found hanged in a dacha in the Minsk region in September 2010.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The report states that Belarusian providers blocked more than 20 news sites on the orders of the Ministry of Information, which defined the pages as extremist. It notes that in March 2024, authorities officially dissolved the independent BelaPAN<\/em> news agency, “completing the state’s years-long campaign against it.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Europe Press Freedom Report highlights the necessity of journalist independence from various influences for a healthy democracy, emphasizing decent working conditions and protection from legal threats. It warns that states are abusing the Interpol system to persecute journalists in exile, citing the case of Belarusian journalist Andrej Hniot’s detention in Serbia. The report also documents deteriorating press freedom in Georgia and the stripping of the Belarusian Association of Journalists of its domain name after it was labeled an “extremist organization.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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