Ministry of Information: We didn't issue warnings to Charter and Belorusski Partizan

However, some users cannot open the independent websites.

A number of ISPs have begun to block the websites charter97.org, Belorusski Partizan and Viasna human rights centre, users report.

The message “access to the website is blocked in accordance with the regulation No.6 of the Operational and Analytical Centre of the Republic of Belarus of February 19, 2015” appears when users try to open the sites.

The OAC's regulation provides for blocking a website for two warnings from the Ministry of Information during a year. According to the document, ISPs have one day to restrict access to the website that has two or more warnings from the Ministry of Information and has been put on the blacklist. Access is blocked for all users except for special agencies mentioned in the regulation.

Euroradio learnt from the legal department of the Ministry of Information that no warnings were issued to the abovementioned sites. “We do not know anything about it,” the ministry says.

The so called blacklist of websites subject to access restrictions in Belarus is made by the State Supervisory Department for Telecommunication. The agency does not comment on reasons for the blocking.