State-run TV channel Belarus 4 accused Hrodna opposition activists of all manner of offenses on sketchy evidence and… used Belsat TV footage without asking permission.
‘March To Nowhere’ by Belarus 4
The 11-minute news item ‘March to Nowhere” is made in the distinguished style of a Lukashenka-controlled TV station: they slam oppositiion for allegedly taking money from the West and preparing non-parasite protests. Interestingly, pictures and videos aired prove that opposition activists are under permanent surveillance.
The main message of the story is the following: opposition members roll in clover and only pretend they are fight for the rights of Belarusians.
The piece features an ‘elite house in the center of Hrodna’ in which Vadzim Saranchukou, Head of Hrodna department of the Belarusian People’s Front, lives, a school certificat of Vadzim Levan, the coordinator of the movement ‘For Freedom’ in Hrodna region and reveals other details of private life of the Belarusian activists.
It should be noted that Channel 4 used videos by Belsat TV in its libel story.
In February-March, there has been an eruption of protesting the so-called ‘parasite’ law in Belarus. Hundreds of Belarusians were detained, fined, jailed after recent non-parasite marches. Most of them were accused of violating the order of holding mass events and disobedience to police officers’ demands. It should be noted that plainclothes policemen who refuse to show their IDs a or introduce themselves often beat people and prevented journalists from performing their professional duties.
