(RSF/IFEX) – RSF has called on Information Minister Michail Padhajny to rescind his 28 May 2003 decree suspending the independent daily “Belorusskaya Delovaya Gazeta” and its monthly supplement, “BDG. Dla Sluzhebnoho Polzovaniya” for three months for allegedly “breaking the news media law”. The suspension of “Belorusskaya Delovaya Gazeta” is “part of a new offensive in […]
(RSF/IFEX) – RSF has called on Information Minister Michail Padhajny to rescind his 28 May 2003 decree suspending the independent daily “Belorusskaya Delovaya Gazeta” and its monthly supplement, “BDG. Dla Sluzhebnoho Polzovaniya” for three months for allegedly “breaking the news media law”.
The suspension of “Belorusskaya Delovaya Gazeta” is “part of a new offensive in the government’s flagrant harassment of the independent press” and is “clearly aimed at silencing journalists who criticise President Lukashenko,” RSF Secretary-General Robert Ménard said in a letter to Padhajny. “This measure also breaks the law because you did not deign to wait until the courts had reached a decision on the matter,” Ménard added.
“Belorusskaya Delovaya Gazeta” had received several warnings because of its reports about an alleged affair between President Lukashenko and Miss Russia Svetlana Koroleva, and the ongoing trial of businessman Mikhaïl Leonov for alleged embezzlement of public funds. The newspaper had previously been threatened with closure for “defaming the president” and “covering a trial without the court’s permission”. It had appealed to the Supreme Economic Court, which has yet to issue its ruling.
At least five newspapers have been temporarily shut down or prevented from appearing under various pretexts as a result of judicial decisions over the past six months. On 24 April, Information Minister Mikhail Podgainy ordered the closure of the independent regional newspaper “Pravinstsyalka” for three months because it changed its legal address and the subjects it writes about without coordinating the changes with the Information Ministry and local authorities (see IFEX alert of 27 May 2003).
On 19 May, a regional court refused to register the new legal address of “Volny Gorad”, thereby preventing the newspaper from being registered. On 3 February, the court responsible for commercial matters in the Grodno region suspended the commercial licence of Ramuald Ulan, founder of “Novaya Gazeta Smorgoni”, an independent weekly in the town of Smorgon, thereby forcing the newspaper to close. The executive committee accused Ulan of violating the right to work, tax legislation and fire regulations in 2000 and 2002 (see alert of 6 February 2003).
On 26 November 2002, the Information Ministry cancelled the registration of the independent weekly “Mestnoye Vremya” on the pretext that its new address had not been authorised, although the law makes no provision for such a drastic sanction in such circumstances. Launched in early November, the newspaper was only able to publish three issues (see alert of 2 December 2002).
The sentences of hard labour against Mikolai Markevich, editor of the regional newspaper “Pagonya”, and one of his journalists, Pavel Mazheiko, for insulting the president were lightened in spring 2003, inasmuch as they were allowed to serve their sentences in their home town. But Viktar Ivaskevich, editor of the newspaper “Rabochy”, is still in a labour camp for an article he wrote and published accusing President Lukashenko of corruption (see alerts of 25 and 7 March 2003, 16 September, 13 and 8 August, 26, 20 and 6 June, 9 and 4 April 2002).
