1984
Belarus journalist jailed for ‘facilitating extremism’ after collecting data for human rights groupBY YURAS KARMANAU
August 31, 2023
TALLINN, Estonia (AP) — A court in Belarus has sentenced a high-profile journalist to 3 1/2 years for “facilitating extremist activities” and “discrediting Belarus” after she provided data for a renowned human rights group, the Belarusian Association of Journalists (BAJ) said Thursday.
Larysa Shchyrakova — sentenced during a closed trial in the city of Gomel — will serve her sentence in a high-security penal colony and must pay a fine of 3,500 Belarusian rubles (about $1,100).
Belarusian authorities detained Shchyrakova in December 2022. Officials initially placed her son in a state orphanage before transferring custody to her ex-husband.
Shchyrakova, 50, is the latest in a string of journalists jailed in Belarus after covering the large-scale political repression that has rocked the country since its last presidential elections three years ago.
Journalist for top Polish paper allegedly denied medication in Belarusian prison
Large-scale protests erupted in Belarus in August 2020, when President Alexander Lukashenko was re-elected in a vote that both the opposition and the West have condemned as rigged. Authorities responded to the demonstrations with a violent crackdown that resulted in more than 35,000 arrests, with thousands of protestors beaten.
During proceedings, the state accused Shchyrakova of “collecting, creating, processing, storing and transmitting information” for Belarus’ leading human rights center, Viasna, as well as for television channel Belsat — which broadcasts in Belarusian from Poland.
Both Viasna and Belsat are considered “extremist” organizations by the Belarusian government.
“The verdict against Larysa Shchyrakova is another reprisal aimed at taking revenge upon journalists,” the Belarusian Association of Journalists said in a statement. “Shchyrakova is a professional reporter with years of experience, a human rights activist, and a cultural figure. Across the globe, these kinds of figures are usually given awards. In Belarus, they are persecuted — but journalism is not a crime.” Belarusian opposition leader Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya also condemned the court’s decision.
“Today, my thoughts are with Larysa Shchyrakova, a journalist and mother,” she said. “She’s been sentenced to 3 1/2 years simply for doing her job, torn away from her son. This brilliant woman is held as a political prisoner alongside 32 other journalists in Belarus. This shameful injustice must end.”
Some 33 Belarusian media workers are currently behind bars, either awaiting trial or serving prison sentences, according to the Association of Journalists.
Viasna has recorded 1,496 political prisoners in Belarus today, including Nobel Peace Prize winner Ales Bialiatski.
STALINISM 2023
Russia declares Nobel-winning editor Dmitry Muratov to be a foreign agent
Nobel Peace Prize awarded journalist Dmitry Muratov, editor-in-chief of the influential Russian newspaper Novaya Gazeta speak to journalists stands at a courtroom prior to a session in Moscow, Russia, Thursday, June 8, 2023. Russian authorities on Friday, Sept. 1, 2023, declared newspaper editor Dmitry Muratov, a winner of the Nobel Peace Prize, to be a foreign agent, continuing the country’s moves to suppress critics and independent reporting.
Nobel Peace Prize awarded journalist Dmitry Muratov, editor-in-chief of the influential Russian newspaper Novaya Gazeta speak to journalists stands at a courtroom prior to a session in Moscow, Russia, Thursday, June 8, 2023. Russian authorities on Friday, Sept. 1, 2023, declared newspaper editor Dmitry Muratov, a winner of the Nobel Peace Prize, to be a foreign agent, continuing the country’s moves to suppress critics and independent reporting.
AP Photo/Alexander Zemlianichenko
September 1, 2023
MOSCOW (AP) — Russian authorities on Friday declared newspaper editor Dmitry Muratov, a winner of the Nobel Peace Prize, to be a foreign agent, continuing the country’s moves to suppress critics and independent reporting.
Russian law allows for individuals and organizations receiving funding from abroad to be declared foreign agents, a pejorative term that potentially undermines their credibility with the Russian public. The status also requires designees to mark any publications with a disclaimer stating they are foreign agents.
Muratov was chief editor of Novaya Gazeta, which was widely respected abroad for its investigative reporting and was frequently critical of the Kremlin. Muratov was a co-laureate of the 2021 Nobel prize; he later put up his Nobel medal for auction, receiving $103.5 million which he said would be used to aid refugee children from Ukraine.
After Russia enacted harsh laws to punish statements that criticized its military actions in Ukraine or were found to discredit Russian soldiers, Novaya Gazeta announced it would suspend publication until the conflict ended.
Many of its journalists started a new publication called Novaya Gazeta Europe that is based in Latvia.
Russia in recent years has methodically targeted people and organizations critical of the Kremlin, branding many as “foreign agents.” It has has branded some as “undesirable” under a 2015 law that makes membership in such organizations a criminal offense.
It also has imprisoned prominent opposition figures including anti-corruption campaigner Alexei Navalny, who is President Vladimir Putin’s most persistent domestic foe, and dissidents Vladimir Kara-Murza and Ilya Yashin.
MOSCOW (AP) — Russian authorities on Friday declared newspaper editor Dmitry Muratov, a winner of the Nobel Peace Prize, to be a foreign agent, continuing the country’s moves to suppress critics and independent reporting.
Russian law allows for individuals and organizations receiving funding from abroad to be declared foreign agents, a pejorative term that potentially undermines their credibility with the Russian public. The status also requires designees to mark any publications with a disclaimer stating they are foreign agents.
Muratov was chief editor of Novaya Gazeta, which was widely respected abroad for its investigative reporting and was frequently critical of the Kremlin. Muratov was a co-laureate of the 2021 Nobel prize; he later put up his Nobel medal for auction, receiving $103.5 million which he said would be used to aid refugee children from Ukraine.
After Russia enacted harsh laws to punish statements that criticized its military actions in Ukraine or were found to discredit Russian soldiers, Novaya Gazeta announced it would suspend publication until the conflict ended.
Many of its journalists started a new publication called Novaya Gazeta Europe that is based in Latvia.
Russia in recent years has methodically targeted people and organizations critical of the Kremlin, branding many as “foreign agents.” It has has branded some as “undesirable” under a 2015 law that makes membership in such organizations a criminal offense.
It also has imprisoned prominent opposition figures including anti-corruption campaigner Alexei Navalny, who is President Vladimir Putin’s most persistent domestic foe, and dissidents Vladimir Kara-Murza and Ilya Yashin.
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