The freedom of the press in Belarus is becoming more and more difficult. Now the authorities of the ruler Alexander Lukashenko want to dissolve the largest journalists’ association in the country. On Wednesday, the Ministry of Justice asked the highest court to close the Belarusian Association of Journalists (BAJ). The reason: alleged errors in the documents of office premises.
The association argued that it could not provide the necessary documents because the headquarters had been sealed off since a police raid last week. “The Ministry of Justice does not even try to respect decency,” said BAJ boss Andrej Bastunets. “Although the situation looks desperate, we will defend BAJ with all legal means.” The board has already fled to Georgia, the press spokeswoman to Ukraine. The respected media association has existed since 1995 and includes 1204 journalists.
The BAJ also receives support from Germany. The German Association of Journalists (DJV) condemns the plans of the Belarusian government. “We are demanding security guarantees for our colleagues from Belarus from the countries of refuge,” said DJV Federal Chairman Frank Überall in a press release on Wednesday. They just did their job and were “committed to the interests of journalists in Belarus”.
The situation for the Belarusian media has been worsening for weeks. Earlier this month, the State Security Committee announced that it would “purge the country of individuals with radical attitudes.” According to the BAJ, there have been dozens of raids in the offices and private homes of journalists in the past two weeks alone. 32 journalists are currently in custody.