The Interfax-West news agency, whose sole founder and owner is the Russian Interfax, has closed its office in Belarus.
The agency said that due to changes made to the media law in May 2021, it has “no possibility of continuing its activities as a media outlet.”
“As of January 1, we are forced to say goodbye in order not to violate the laws of the Republic of Belarus,” said the agency.
“Interfax-Zapad, a member of the international information group Interfax Information Services, has been operating in the Belarusian market since 1994. The Russian news agency Interfax is one of the three leading news agencies in Russia, along with the state-owned TASS and RIA Novosti. It is the largest information group in the CIS, with over thirty companies.
The Russian newspaper Komsomolskaya Pravda closed its office in Belarus in October after journalist Henadz Mazheika was detained and its website was blocked.
belsat.eu
