Over 360 Journalists Detained in Belarus

According to the Belarusian Association of Journalists, 24 journalists were detained during the coverage of recent protests by Belarusians (some of whom remain in prison). In total, more than 500 repressions against journalists have been registered in Belarus since the beginning of 2020, and 360 media workers have been arrested since 9 August.

The Association of Polish Journalists and the National Union of Journalists of Ukraine express their solidarity with their Belarusian counterparts and call for  Belarusian authorities to release all journalists from detention immediately.

“Don’t beat me!” I am a journalist! ” This is the name of their joint publication, which is currently under preparation. It includes a series of detailed stories by Belarusian journalists about the circumstances of brutal detentions and arrests that have taken place in the country since the presidential election in August this year.

One of the authors of this book is a well-known Belarusian journalist, correspondent of BELSAT TV channel Kateryna Andreeva. On Sunday 15 November, Kateryna was arrested while covering protests in Minsk.

It should be noted that the Belarusian authorities currently ask Poland to extradite the founders of the Next a Telegram channel, Stepan Putylo and Roman Protasevych. They are accused of committing criminal activities, spreading extremist views in the media, as well as creating dangers for society.

Next a media became the most popular information resource during the mass protests in Belarus. For security reasons, the Telegram channel’s editorial office temporarily moved to Warsaw.

Natalia Tolub