On 27 March, Belarusian police staged a nation-wide search of the homes of independent journalists and of their offices. According to the Belarus Media Association, the police action is being carried out under Article 367 of the Belarus Penal Code that penalises “libel” against the Belarus President. There are fears that this may lead to further arrests in Belarus, reports IFEX. (29-MAR-08)

Based on information from IFEX. Sources: Writers in Prison Committee, International PEN

The Belarus state prosecutor´s office told Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL) that the searches were being made in relation to a case initiated in 2005 against three people who had posted cartoons ridiculing President Lukashenko on a website that year. The three are said to have fled Belarus in 2007. Police are looking for their “collaborators”. The Belarus Foreign Ministry has also told RFE/RL that searches against European Union (EU) and Polish-funded independent newspapers were being carried out because they had no accreditation, and, furthermore, “had illegally engaged in journalistic activities for foreign money on the territory of the Republic of Belarus for a long time.”

EU expressed disappointment
Among those attacked on 25 March were a number of journalists from outside Belarus, mainly Lithuania, Poland and Ukraine. Two Lithuanian TV journalists were badly beaten as they attempted to film the events. The Lithuanian Ministry of Foreign Affairs condemned the events as “a gross violation of the principle of free expression”. The United States embassy has withdrawn staff in protest, and further international sanctions are threatened. The EU, which has been working on improving relations with Belarus, not least because gas lines from the Russian Federation to the EU run through the country, on 28 March expressed “deep disappointment” at the violence used against demonstrators and the arrests.

RECOMMENDED ACTION:
Send appeals to authorities:
– protesting the sentences and beatings of journalists covering the 25 March demonstrations
– pointing out that such actions are in direct violation of Article 19 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, to which Belarus is a signatory, that guarantees the right to freedom of expression, as well as a violation of Article 21, that protects the right to peaceful assembly
– calling for the release of all writers and journalists held in violation of their rights and an end to further harassment and attacks on the independent media