{"id":181895,"date":"2026-04-01T17:47:47","date_gmt":"2026-04-01T14:47:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/news\/181895\/"},"modified":"2026-04-01T17:48:20","modified_gmt":"2026-04-01T14:48:20","slug":"bbc-dismisses-extremist-label-as-attempt-to-criminalize-independent-journalism","status":"publish","type":"articles","link":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/news\/181895\/","title":{"rendered":"BBC dismisses \u201cextremist\u201d label as attempt to criminalize journalism"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

April 1, Pozirk.<\/em> <\/strong>BBC has dismissed the \u201cextremist\u201d label given by Belarus as an attempt to criminalize independent journalism, in comments posted on March 31.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The corporation expressed deep concern about the consequences of this decision for the \u201chundreds of thousands of people in Belarus who turn to the BBC every week in search of the trustworthy and impartial information they need so strongly.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe BBC is the world\u2019s most trusted source of international news, and we remain committed to our audience in Belarus,\u201d the press office said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

On March 30, Belarusian media reported that a judge in Mahilo\u016d had branded the BBC website \u201cextremist\u201d content.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

According to the information ministry, the website of BBC News \u0420\u0443\u0441\u0441\u043a\u0430\u044f \u0421\u043b\u0443\u0436\u0431\u0430 (BBC News Russian), the BBC\u2019s Russian-language division, has been placed on the ministry\u2019s \u201cextremist\u201d list. However, instead of bbc.c\u043em\/Russian, which is run by BBC News Russian, the updated list features the BBC\u2019s international website bbc.com.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

BBC News Russian lists outlawed Belarusian news company Zerkalo as one of the partner organizations that republish its content. Zerkalo was established abroad in July 2021 as a successor to Belarus\u2019 largest web portal tut.by after its closure in Belarus. Authorities have declared both Zerkalo and tut.by as \u201cextremist.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The government introduced the \u201cextremist content\u201d designation in the wake of the 2020 mass protests against election fraud to punish Belarusians for following critical media outlets and social media accounts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Belarusian law enforcement officers randomly check people\u2019s phones to see who they are following. Those found to possess or share links to banned media and accounts are punished by fines or jail sentences of up to 15 days under Article 19.11 of the Administrative Offenses Code. It does not carry any punishment for those producing banned content.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Police forced some of those arrested to confess to following \u201cextremist\u201d content before a video camera and then posted forced confessions on Telegram accounts to intimidate the public. State television journalists have been involved in recording forced confessions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The extremist content list contains thousands of entries, so it is actually hard for people to follow it and delete blacklisted content from their devices.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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