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Civil society activists in Ukraine urge on Belarusian government to stop persecuting journalists

Activists of Ukraine's civil society group Stop Censorship and a campaign called New Citizen have called on the Belarusian government to stop persecuting journalists.

"We, Ukrainian journalists and representatives of non-governmental organizations, demand releasing our Belarusian colleagues, stopping discrimination against and the hounding and intimidation of journalists and respecting the right to freely express one's views and to obtain, store and disseminate information," the appeal says.

The appeal condemns KGB and police raids on journalists' homes and editorial offices and demands the immediate return of the seized equipment and memory devices.

According to the Belarusian Association of Journalists (BAJ), at least 27 journalists have been arrested by police since the December 19 post-election protest and more than 20 journalists have been beaten up, the appeal says. Ten journalists have been punished under the Administrative Offenses Code with jail terms of between 10 and 15 days, and six journalists have been charged in a so-called riot case and are facing up to 15 years in prison.

The charge has been brought, in particular, against Iryna Khalip, an investigative journalist with the Russian newspaper Novaya Gazeta; Natallya Radzina, editor of the opposition news site charter97.org; Syarhey Vaznyak, editor of the private newspaper Tovarishch; political writer Alyaksandr Fyaduta; and BAJ members Paval Sevyarynets and Dzmitry Bandarenka.

"We are confident that such actions may have serious negative consequences for both the Belarusian leadership and the country in general, as they may lead to the international isolation of that state," the appeal says.

On January 24, a signature-collection campaign was launched in Poland to petition Alyaksandr Lukashenka to ensure the release all the detained post-election protesters, in particular, Ms. Khalip, whose three-year-old son has been cared for by his grandparents.

According to media reports, more than 60 prominent Polish actors and journalists have already signed the petition. //BelaPAN