News on the topic: freedom of expression
08.10.2007 Smaliavichy: Police Detain Activists of ?For Freedom!’ Movement
On 5 October in Smaliavichy the police detained nine young activists of For Freedom! movement. 12 activists handed out Svaboda newspaper and some more stood with a white-red-white flag in the town center.
05.10.2007 Pinsk: Non-state Newspaper Miastsovy Shliakh Suspends Its Activity for Economical Reasons
The editorial office of the non-state newspaper Miastsovy Shliakh decided to suspend its activities because of a hard financial situation.
05.10.2007 Yury Istomin Claims Justice
On 5 October, after five days of arrest, the chair of Hrodna oblast office of the United Civil Party Yury Istomin was released from jail. He was sentenced to the prison term by the judge of Kastrychnitski district court of Hrodna Zinaida Bartsevich on charges of petty hooliganism (article 17.1 of the Administrative Code).
05.10.2007 Tovarishch Editor Appeals against Police Raid
The chief editor of the Tovarishch, newspaper of the oppositional Party of Communists of Belarus (PCB), has lodged a complaint with the Prosecutor General’s Office and Leninski district prosecutor’s office in Minsk in connection with the last month’s police raid on the newspaper’s office.
02.10.2007 Riot Police Watch and Hinder Social Pickets
On 30 September in Minsk the activists of the Party of Communists of Belarus Valery Ukhnaliou, Dzmitry Yanenka and a journalist Henadz Sharypkin were detained while handing out the issue of the Tovarishch newspaper that was dedicated to the Social March (appointed on 4 November). The detainees were taken to Savetski district police department of Minsk, but no reports were drawn.
24.09.2007 Customs Officers Doubt Journalists’ “Right to Be Free”
Belarusian customs officers copied information from reporters' cameras and listened to voice recordings.
20.09.2007 Niasvizh: Police Searches House of Brama Weekly Editor
Yesterday, after 10 p.m. Niasvizh police continued a search in the house of Ales Yazvinski, chief editor of the independent weekly BRAMA.
17.09.2007 Andrei Klimau Marks His 6th Birthday Behind Bars
On September 17th Andrei Klimau turns 42.
13.09.2007 Does Belsat Already Bother Authorities?
The administration of a new satellite TV channel Belsat has stated that the Belarusian side refused to sell to it belsat.by domain without explaining the reasons to the company that acted as a mediator. Belsat is a foreign TV channel that intends to broadcast information on Belarus without state control.
06.09.2007 Mahiliou: Police Detain Distributors of Youth Bulletin
At about 8 p.m. on 5 September in Leninskaya Street in Mahiliou the police detained for handing out Moladzevy biuleten UFF-BY.org (Youth Bulletin) three under aged persons: Ales Anisimau, Artsiom Davydau and Kastus Yauseyeu. 173 copies of the edition were confiscated from them.
06.09.2007 Hrodna: Prosecutor’s Office Intimidates Journalists
Kastrychnitski district prosecutor’s office of Hrodna has issued official warnings to the local journalist Natallia Makushyna for cooperation with the foreign radio station Deutsche Welle. In the warnings it was stated that the journalists’ materials were tendentious and could be harmful to the international image of the Republic of Belarus.
30.08.2007 Hrodna: Prosecutor’s Office Struggles against ‘Discredit of Police’
On 29 August the journalist Ivan Roman was called to Leninski district prosecutor’s office of Hrodna. The prosecutor started investigating if Ivan Roman had been the author of ‘the governmental body discrediting’ news story published at Radio Ratsyja website in July.
16.08.2007 Mahiliou: Policeman Boldly Violates Journalist’s Rights
On 14 August in Chekhau Street 16 the editor of a small-circulation non-state newspaper Miastsovy Chas Hanna Iliina attended a meeting of Belarusian public activists with their Polish and German colleagues.
14.08.2007 Reporters Without Borders Condemns Situation of Freedom of Speech in Belarus
Reporters Without Borders condemns the parliamentary human rights and media committee’s decision on 3 August to reject a request from the Belarus Association of Journalists (BAJ) that it should consider whether article 10 of the media law violates articles 33 and 34 of the constitution.
10.08.2007 Homel: Police Detain Youth Activist Andrei Tsianiuta
On 9 August in the center of Homel, in Paleskaya Street, persons in mufti detained a regional leader of Young Front Andrei Tsianiuta. Later the activist found that these persons were policemen. They drew him to Chyhunachny borough police department of Homel ‘for a talk’. There they searched his belongings, found several independent media outlets (including the officially registered Nasha Niva), composed a confiscation report and a report about illegal distribution of the editions. During the confiscation they violated the process norms. Soon the activist was released.
