{"id":177861,"date":"2026-03-03T12:44:00","date_gmt":"2026-03-03T09:44:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/news\/177861\/"},"modified":"2026-03-10T12:05:06","modified_gmt":"2026-03-10T12:05:06","slug":"press-freedom-report-belarus-hotspot-of-repression-threats-to-journalists","status":"publish","type":"articles","link":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/news\/177861\/","title":{"rendered":"Press Freedom Report: Belarus hotspot of repression, threats to journalists"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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\n (Global Look Press)<\/span>\n <\/div>\n <\/figcaption>\n<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

March 3, Pozirk.<\/em><\/strong> Press freedom in Europe was under constant pressure last year, as journalists faced legal threats, attempts at media capture and transnational reprisals, says the Europe Press Freedom Report 2025 by the partner organisations to the Council of Europe\u2019s platform promoting safety of journalists.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The document listed Belarus along with Georgia, Serbia, Russia, Turkey and Ukraine\u2019s Russian-occupied territories as hotspots of conflict and repression, posing primary sources of threats to journalists.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Belarus ranked third in Europe after Russia and Azerbaijan as a leading jailer of journalists on unfounded charges, according to the report.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Both Belarus and Russia were listed as the worst offenders in restricting journalists\u2019 rights under the pretext of countering disinformation, cybercrime, terrorism and extremism, it noted. \u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cRussia and Belarus, who share a database of wanted suspects, have weaponised international police cooperation, via Interpol\u2019s \u2018red notices\u2019 and direct extradition requests,\u201d the document stressed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Exiled journalists from these countries often face trumped-up charges, while their family members are subjected to pressure. Minsk and Moscow aim “to discredit exiled journalists and ruin their personal and professional life by isolating them from sources, who fear harsh official retribution, or by exposing them to legal uncertainties when travelling,\u201d the report said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In Belarus, arrests of journalists are a \u201cpart of a cycle of repression rather than an exceptional measure,\u201d the report said. The release of some journalists in 2025 did not indicate a relaxation of policy, but signalled a revolving-door pattern, with new arrests offsetting the releases and keeping overall levels of reprisals high.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Prolonged pre-trial detentions, re-arrests and the threat of renewed prosecution have effectively removed journalists from public life even when they are not imprisoned. Taken together, these practices point to a deliberate strategy to normalize arrests as a tool of censorship, with lasting consequences for press freedom and public debate, the report noted.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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