26 June 2002

Alert

CPJ condemns conviction of independent journalists


Incident details

Mikola Markevich, Paval Mazheika

journalist(s)



(CPJ/IFEX) - The following is a 25 June 2002 CPJ press release:




BELARUS: CPJ condemns conviction of independent journalists

New York, June 25, 2002-The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) condemns yesterday's conviction of Mikola Markevich and Paval Mazheika, both of the independent weekly newspaper Pahonya.

The Leninsky District Court in the city of Hrodno, in western Belarus, found editor-in-chief Markevich and journalist Mazheika guilty of libeling President Aleksandr Lukashenko. The journalists were sentenced to two-and-a-half and two years, respectively, of hard labor.

According to Pahonya's online edition, the two journalists will live in a specially designated location under police supervision and will perform compulsory labor. The conviction marked a debut in the use of a criminal libel law passed in 1999, which carries a maximum sentence of five years in prison, said Belarusian and international reports.

The case stems from two September 2001 editions of Pahonya that criticized the president ahead of the September 9, 2001, presidential elections.

In a separate incident, on June 20, 2002, the prosecutor's office charged Viktar Ivashkevich, editor-in-chief of the independent newspaper Rabochy, with criminally defaming Lukashenko.

Under the Belarusian Criminal Code, Ivashkevich faces up to five years in prison.

The case against Ivashkevich came after an article in a special August 2001 issue of Rabochy, titled "A Thief Belongs in Prison," accused Lukashenko and his administration of corruption.

For more information about press freedom conditions in Belarus, visit www.cpj.org. CPJ is a New York-based, independent, nonprofit organization that works to safeguard press freedom worldwide.





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Updates to this story

Editor Viktar Ivashkevich's sentence halved 10 June 2003

More on this case

Journalist paroled, two others still detained in labour camps 7 March 2003 CPJ outraged by assault on independent press 13 August 2002 Authorities target two more independent newspapers 8 August 2002 CPJ condemns criminal prosecution of independent journalists 20 June 2002 Journalists' defamation trial gets underway 6 June 2002 CPJ condemns prosecution of independent journalists, trial postponed indefinitely 9 April 2002 International PEN expresses concern about continuing trial of newspaper editor and journalist 4 April 2002 CPJ denounces closure of independent weekly newspaper 14 November 2001 International PEN concerned about "Pahonia" trial 2 November 2001

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