Belsat TV contributor Volha Czajczyc on trial
On the eve of the World Press Freedom Day 2018 (WPFD), the European Federation of Journalists expressed its solidarity with prosecuted journalists in Belarus.
The World Press Freedom Day is marked on May, 3.
“Unfortunately, the working nditions for journalists in Belarus cannot be regarded as free at all nowadays. Since 2015, the Belarusian official authorities have started a repression campaign against freelance journalists, who cooperate with foreign media,” the statement reads.
As a result of this campaign, the Belarusian journalists were fined 69 times for the alleged illegal production of mass media products in 2017, the EFJ stressed.
“The wave of government-led oppression in relation to freelance reporters in Belarus continued in 2018. In particular, huge fines were imposed on our colleagues 32 times since the year start. It was not a rare case that the sums of penalties exceeded the average salary rate in the country,” the media watchdog said.
During the current year, 37 fines have been imposed on Belsat TV journalists and contributors. They will have to pay nearly 30,000 Belarusian rubles.
The European Federation of Journalists (EFJ), the largest organisation of journalists in Europe, representing over 320,000 journalists in 70 journalists’ organisations across 44 countries, urge the Belarusian governmental authorities to stop immediately the unprecedented wave of persecution against freelance journalists and provide our colleagues with legal guarantees for their professional work.
