European Broadcasting Union calls on Belarus authorities to release all imprisoned journos
2021 has been a grim year for journalists and those who campaign for press freedom, the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) says in its recent statement.
“According to the Committee to Protect Journalists, globally 293 reporters have been jailed for their work this year, and 24 were killed,” the EBU stressed.
31 journalists are currently in prison or police detention in Belarus; many are being subjected to excessive pre-trial detentions on charges they strongly deny, others have received long jail sentences, the organisation reports with reference to the Belarusian Association of Journalists (BAJ).
“Iryna Slaunikava is a Belarusian journalist. She was detained along with her husband Alyaksandr Loyka on 30 October 2021 when they returned to Belarus from a holiday in Egypt. They were first detained for 15 days for ‘sharing allegedly extremist materials on Facebook’ and ‘petty hooliganism. But their detention has been repeatedly extended and now Ms Slaunikava has been given the status as a suspect involved in ‘the organisation and preparation of activities that significantly violate the social order or actively participate in them,” the statement reads.
According to the EBU, this is the same legal basis on which two other Belsat journalists, Katsyaryna Andreyeva and Darya Chultsova, were given lengthy prison sentences.
“The journalists imprisoned in Belarus are brave individuals paying an intolerable price for their dedication to reporting the truth about what is happening in the country. It is part of a wider campaign by the government to silence independent journalism and to prevent the Belarusian people from having access to trustworthy and accurate information,” Liz Corbin, EBU Deputy Media Director and Head of News, said.
In addition to the detentions, accreditations of Belarusian nationals who were working for foreign news organizations were cancelled by the authorities and have not been reinstated, the Belarusian Association of Journalists is banned from legally operating in the country and has relocated outside Belarus, the EBU officials recall. In the statement, the European Broadcasting Union urges the Belarusian authorities to release all journalists imprisoned in Belarus and make it possible for media workers to do their job safely and without threat or hindrance.
