belarus executive summary - US Department of State

BELARUS 23
Journalists reporting for international media that gave extensive coverage to the
country, such as the Warsaw-based independent satellite channel Belsat TV and
the Polish radio station Radio Racyja, continued to receive warnings from the
Prosecutor’s Office for working without accreditation. After enactment of the new
media law, authorities sent warnings to at least 24 independent journalists.
Libel Laws/National Security: Libel is a criminal offense. There are large fines
and prison sentences of up to four years for defaming or insulting the president.
Penalties for defamation of character make no distinction between private and
public persons. A public figure who is criticized for poor performance while in
office may sue both the journalist and the media outlet that disseminated the
critical report.
For example, in April police arrested Andrzej Paczobut on charges of slandering
and insulting the president. On July 5, a court in Hrodna convicted him of slander
in a closed-door proceeding and sentenced him to a three-year suspended sentence,
with two years of probation. He was acquitted of the charge of insult. Paczobut
also was prohibited from leaving the country. On September 20, a higher court
rejected his appeal.
In June Lida-based blogger Yauhen Kutsko was fined 700,000 rubles ($85) after a
court convicted him of slandering the then chairman of the Lida regional
government. Following the publication of the offending article on his blog at the
end of 2010, Kutsko was dismissed from his job and remained unemployed at
year’s end.
Authorities also frequently cited national security as grounds for censorship of
media. On January 12, authorities closed popular independent radio station
Autoradio, claiming that it broadcast “public calls for extremist activities” by
broadcasting legal campaign advertisements for presidential candidate Sannikau.
Autoradio’s multiple legal appeals to resume broadcasting were denied.
After an explosion at a Minsk subway station on April 11, authorities issued at
least nine warnings to independent journalists and media outlets for disseminating
“unfounded information regarding the tragic event at the subway” and
“speculations that discredit the Belarusian state and public.” Nasha Niva and
Narodnaya Volya were among the warned outlets, and KGB officers interrogated
Nasha Niva editor in chief Andrei Skurko on April 18 and forced the newspaper to
remove a video of the explosion site from the newspaper’s Web site.
Country Reports on Human Rights Practices for 2011
United States Department of State • Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labor