Belsat TV denied accreditation again

The Belarusian Ministry of Foreign Affairs refused to accredit the Poland-based Belsat TV channel, referring to repeated offences by the channel’s journalists while working in Belarus, www.belsat.eu said on Monday.

This is the third denial the satellite TV channel has faced since Belsat was launched in 2007. Earlier, the authorities cited other formal grounds.

“To accredit Belsat was a good opportunity for the authorities of Belarus to improve their relations with the West. However, the denial crossed all the latest efforts of the authorities in this regard,” says the channel’s TV director Agnieszka Romaszewska-Guzy.

Freelance journalists working for Belsat have repeatedly received warnings from the authorities. Many of them were arrested. Despite obstacles, the independent TV channel will continue its work and submit another registration bid.