Hrodna journalists address Prosecutor General

Hrodna independent journalists have filed an open letter to the Prosecutor General of the Republic of Belarus Aliaksandr Kaniuk. Members "of the Belarusian Association of Journalists" pay attention to the systematic harassment of freelance journalists by the police and the courts.

The text of the appeal reads: "We declare the illegality of harassment of reporters, whose names and materials appear in the foreign media. The pressure on these journalists has the nature of public intimidation and blackmail and is contrary to the norms of the national legislation and international obligations of Belarus in the field of freedom of information."

Two dozen of journalists require cessation of administrative prosecution of journalists for their professional activity, and require authorized officials to issue a protest against the court decisions on cases against the journalists Aliaksandr Dzianisau (verdict of the LeninskiDistrict Court of Hrodna ofApril 4, 2014), Aliaksandr Zaleuski (verdict of the Karelichy District Court of May 27, 2014), Andrei Myaleshka (verdict of the Kastrychnitski District Court in Hrodna ofJune 16, 2014 and the verdict of the Hrodna District Court of October 7, 2014) under Part 2 st.22.9 Code of Administrative Offenses.

A similar appeal journalists has been submitted to the prosecutor of the Hrodna region.