CPJ Report on Liberty of Word

The international Committee for Protection of Journalists published in New-York its yearly review of the liberty of speech in the world. The worst situation among the countries of the former Soviet Union is in Belarus and Turkmenistan (Charter'97).

Last year the CPJ included Belarus in the list of 10 countries where the situation with the liberty of word is the worst. Alex Lupis, coordinator of the CPJ in Europe and Central Asia, said in his interview to Radio "Liberty":

"Turkmenistan remains a terrible place for journalists. We have no information about existence of independent journalists there. Of course, Belarus also remains a terrible place for journalists. A number of them have been already imprisoned for criticizing Aliaksandr Lukashenka."

The coordinator meant here the punishment of the "Pahonia" journalists Paviel Mazheyka and Mikola Markevich, Viktar Ivashkevich, editor-in-chief of the "Rabochy" newspaper. In its review the CPJ also turned public attention to the trial over the ex-workers of Belarusian special police forces who, along with other crimes, were accused of abduction and murder of Zmitser Zavadski. The investigation was suspended athwart the fact that the episode with his disappearance remained unrevealed and protests of Zavadski's family. The full text of the CPJ report can be found at www.cpj.org