Censorship in Belarus
Censorship in Belarus, although prohibited by the country's constitution, is enforced by a number of laws. These include a law that makes insulting the president punishable by up to five years in prison, and another that makes criticizing Belarus abroad punishable by up to two years in prison.[1]
Freedom of the press in Belarus remains extremely restricted. State-owned media are subordinated to the president and harassment and censorship of independent media are routine. The government subjects both independent and foreign media to systematic political intimidation, especially for reporting on the deteriorating economy and human rights abuses. Journalists are harassed and detained for reporting on unauthorized demonstrations or working with unregistered media outlets. Journalists have been killed in suspicious circumstances.[2] Most local independent outlets regularly practice self-censorship.[3]
Reporters Without Borders ranked Belarus 154th out of 178 countries in its 2010 Press Freedom Index.[4]
In the 2011 Freedom House Freedom of the Press report, Belarus scored 92 on a scale from 10 (most free) to 99 (least free), because the Lukashenko regime systematically curtails press freedom. This score placed Belarus 9th from the bottom of the 196 countries included in the report and earned the country a "Not Free" status.[3] In 2021, after a year-long purge on independent media by Lukashenko regime, the country dropped down to the 158th place in the PFI rating.[5]
Registration and state control on the media[edit]
The Ministry of Information of Belarus was established in 2001[6] and serves as Belarus' media regulator. Licensing and registration procedures are opaque and politicized. Since 2009 all media outlets, including websites, need to register or face blockage. Independent publications have been forced to use foreign-based internet domains. Outlets that "threaten the state's interests" can also be denied accreditation and shut down.[7]
The government established in February 2009 a Public Coordination Council in the Sphere of Mass Information, aimed at the coordination of interaction of state management, public associations, and other organizations carrying out activities in the sphere of mass information; maintenance of correct application of the law on mass media and other legislation in the sphere of mass information; consideration of the questions as issues from applications to the law on mass media.[6]
Since December 2014, websites can be blocked without a court order after two warnings within 12 months. Mass media status was expanded, and liability for contents was widened to include user comments.[7]
A state commission was established in August 2014 to evaluate whether media outlets contain "extremist" materials, possible to a ban under a 2007 counter-extremism law.[7]
During the 2020 Belarusian protests, the Belarusian edition of Komsomolskaya Pravda newspaper failed to print three editions, and Narodnaja Volya failed to print one newspaper edition (both newspapers had a contract with the government-controlled printing house). The Belarusian Association of Journalists said that the real cause was not technical troubles but an attempt to block information about the protests and violations of human rights.[8] Two other independent newspapers (Belgazeta and Svobodnye Novosti) were also unable to print new editions in Belarus.[9] New editions of Komsomolskaya Pravda and Narodnaja Volya were printed in Russia, but the state network of newsstands, "Belsoyuzpechat'", refused to take them for sale. These newspapers also reported that the post service delayed the delivery by subscription.[10]
In January 2021, Brestskaya Gazeta was forced to stop issuing printed newspapers.[11] In July 2021, the Nasha Niva newspaper was forced to stop activity in Belarus after arrests of its editors.[12] In July 2021, Maladziechna-based Rehiyanalnaya hazieta (Belarusian: Рэгіянальная газета, Regional newspaper) announced that it was forced to stop issuing printed newspapers after searches and interrogation of its employees.[13] In June 2021, the national postal service Belposhta refused to distribute Novy Chas by subscription, and in August 2021, Novy Chas announced that it was forced to stop issuing printed newspapers due to the refusal of all companies to publish it.[14]
State control over broadcast media[edit]
The state maintains a virtual monopoly on domestic broadcast media, only the state media broadcasts nationwide, and the content of smaller television and radio stations is tightly restricted. The government has banned most independent and opposition newspapers from being distributed by the state-owned postal and kiosk systems, forcing the papers to sell directly from their newsrooms and use volunteers to deliver copies, but authorities sometimes harass and arrest the private distributors.[3]
The Russian media is allowed to transmit television programming, sell newspapers and conduct journalistic activities in Belarus (though some Russian journalists have been expelled by the Belarusian government), thus giving some members of the public, typically those in large cities with many Russian residents, access to an alternative point of view in the Russian language (nearly all Belarusians understand and most of them speak Russian). Several opposition media outlets broadcast from nearby countries to provide Belarusians alternative points of view. This includes the Belsat TV station and European Radio for Belarus (Eŭrapéjskaje Rádyjo dla Biełarúsi).[15]
In 2014–2015, dozens of freelance journalists were fined for working with foreign media (including Belarusian-language media based in the EU) without official state accreditation from the Foreign Ministry, against Article 22.9(2) of the Belarusian Code on Administrative Offence. Journalists were fined several hundreds of euros for having published through foreign media, rather than based on the content of their work. Computer equipment was also seized. The journalists fined had published on Polish-based Belsat TV, Deutsche Welle. Procedural guarantees, including the hearing of witnesses in court, were reportedly not followed by Belarusian authorities, but appeals were rejected. The prosecution of freelancers was condemned by the Belarusian Association of Journalists, which deemed it a gross violation of the standards of freedom of expression, as well as by the OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media and by the European Federation of Journalists (EFJ). Since April 2014, 38 freelance journalists have been fined €200-500, totalling over €8,000 - some of them being repeatedly prosecuted and fined.[16]
In 2012, the Belarusan largest state network MTIS stopped broadcasting Euronews for unknown reasons. Euronews was the last independent TV channel available in Belarus.[17][18]
Charges, attacks and threats against journalists[edit]
2010s[edit]
In 2014 the media environment in Belarus remained extremely restrictive. More than 20 journalists were questioned, warned or fined in 2014 for "illegal production and distribution of media products". Many were targeted for contributing without accreditation to foreign-based media in Poland and Lithuania.
Some foreign journalists were refused accreditation at the Ice Hockey World Championships. Some were turned back at the border, others were required to obtain a separate accreditation to cover non-sport-related issues.[7]
Arbitrary detention, arrests and harassment of journalists are the norm in Belarus. Anti-extremism legislation targets independent journalism, including materials deemed contrary to the honour of the President of Belarus. Independent reporting is deterred by the threat of closure of media outlets.[19]
Censorship in Belarus, although prohibited by the country's constitution, is enforced by a number of laws. These include a law that makes insulting the president punishable by up to five years in prison, and another that makes criticizing Belarus abroad punishable by up to two years in prison.[1]
Self-censorship[edit]
The Ministry of Information gave warning to 34 media outlets in 2015 alone. Since an outlet receiving two warnings in a year can be closed, the Belarusian Association of Journalists sees this as a way to encourage self-censorship.[66]
The enormous amount of the defamation fines and payments to officials that can be inflicted by courts also encourages self-censorship.[67]: 4
In 2010 the President issued decree #60 which "provides for registration of all Internet resources, creation of black lists of the web-sites access to which should be blocked, and a number of other restrictive measure". Even if not all of these are used, after that "some popular Internet-media became more cautious and softened their criticism of the government".[67]: 3
DDoS cyberattacks were reported, in the run-up to the 2015 Presidential election, to the websites of the websites of BelaPAN news agency (Belapan.com and Naviny.by) and web portal Tut.by, after they published a critical article about students ordered to attend official events. The Belarusian Association of Journalists expressed concern.[91]
Music censorship[edit]
In the past few years, many Belarusian musicians and rock bands have been unofficially banned from radio and television, have had their concert licenses revoked, and have had their interviews censored in the media.[92] Researchers Maya Medich and Lemez Lovas reported in 2006 that "independent music-making in Belarus today is an increasingly difficult and risky enterprise", and that the Belarusian government "puts pressure on ‘unofficial’ musicians - including ‘banning’ from official media and imposing severe restrictions on live performance."
Belarus government policies tend to divide Belarusian musicians into pro-government "official" and pro-democracy "unofficial" camps. Economic barriers have been placed against various artists, leading to self-censorship.[1]