OSCE media freedom representative protests against onslaught on independent media in Belarus
VIENNA, 28 March 2008 - Miklos Haraszti, the OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media, sharply criticised today a crackdown on independent journalists and media outlets throughout the Republic of Belarus.
"I condemn this targeted assault on the independent media as an unconcealed violation of OSCE commitments signed by the Government of Belarus to protect the freedom of the press," said Haraszti.
According to reports, on 27 March, the homes of up to 13 independent journalists were searched. Some of the journalists had their computer hard drives seized and were taken to KGB premises. The concerned journalists work, among others, with the media outlets Euroradio, Radio Racia and the satellite TV channel Belsat. The premises of these outlets were also raided and searched.
The warrants for the actions were issued by the Deputy Prosecutor of Minsk, and some of them linked to a 2005 criminal libel case involving cartoons which depicted the Head of State.
"The attempt to suppress the independent media is unacceptable in a 21st century European society," Haraszti said.
The crackdown followed the violent dispersal by police of a 25 March rally marking Freedom Day (Dzen' Voli), when Andrei Lyankevich, a correspondent with Nasha Niva newspaper was brutally beaten by police. He awaits a court sentence for "participating in an unsanctioned rally". Syamion Piachenko, a reporter with Nasha Niva, was sentenced to 15 days of administrative detention under the same charges.