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OSCE media freedom representative concerned about increasing "pressure" on journalists in Belarus

Dunja Mijatovic, the OSCE representative on freedom of the media, has sent a letter to the Belarusian foreign minister to express concern about “persistent reports that pressure is mounting against domestic and foreign journalists” in the country.

In the letter, Ms. Mijatovic appealed to the Belarusian government’s “wisdom and understanding to change these unacceptable practices toward media,” the OSCE press office said on Tuesday.

“The authorities continue to intimidate and harass critical media. This worrisome trend, which strengthened after the 19 December 2010 presidential election, has reached a critical point,” she was quoted as saying. “These actions are a flagrant violation of Belarus OSCE commitments.”

Ms. Mijatovic listed cases where journalists and media outlets were subject to pressure on the part of the authorities, noting that she was gravely concerned about criminal investigations initiated against journalists Iryna Khalip and Natallya Radzina over their participation in the December 19 post-election protest in Minsk.

She also mentioned the popular FM station Avtoradio`s failure to have its closure overturned and the dismissal of the pro-opposition newspaper Narodnaya Volya’s appeal against a warning issued to it by the information ministry this past January for a story about an unregistered opposition youth organization called Malady Front.

Ms. Mijatovic also expressed concern about a criminal investigation against Hrodna-based Gazeta Wyborcza correspondent Andrzej Poczobut. The journalist was summoned to the Hrodna Regional Prosecutor Office in late March to be notified that prosecutors opened a criminal case against him for allegedly insulting President Alyaksandr Lukashenka in eight articles published in Gazeta Wyborcza, one article published at the Belorussky Partizan website and one post on his blog.