The administrative case of “Belsat” journalist Stanislau Ivashkevich will be heard in the court of the Lida district on August 24. The correspondent is being accused of “violating the law on mass media” (Part 2 of Article 22.9 of the Administrative Code.). He could face a fine of 50 basic units (1,150 BYN).
An administrative report was drawn against Stanislau for the story “The Village in Lida District Drowning in Pig Manure”, which was aired by Belsat on June 30 this year.
Earlier Ivashkevich received a summons to the Lida police station “to get acquainted with the materials of the case”, but the journalist did not show up. He still does not have a copy of the administrative report.
Stanislau Ivashkevich expects that the court will fine him.
“I see this trial in the context of general persecution of my fellow journalists, who are prohibited to engage in the business,” he said in comments to “Belsat”.
Ivashkevich recalls that until recently he has had accreditation from the Foreign Ministry, but a few months ago, it was cancelled. The journalist thinks it was due to his story about corruption in the energy sector in Belarus.
“I had an accreditation, but it was not prolonged after the Foreign Ministry received a complaint from Belenergo. From this we can conclude that when investigative journalism has a resonance, the authorities, instead of correcting something, put more pressure on journalists,” he said.
belsat.eu
