International PEN-Club Demands Cessation of Free Media Harassment :: Charter'97 :: News

International writers’ association “The International PEN-Club” has numerously addressed the Belarusian authorities with a call to cease persecution of the newspaper “Pagonya” and its journalists, as well as to ensure normal conditions for the free information flow on the territory of Belarus, where they regularly violate one of the fundamental human rights – freedom of speech. In connection with the recent interrogation of “Pagonya’s” editor Nikolai Markevich and correspondent Pavel Mozheiko by the procuracy investigators, PEN-club again turned to the Belarusian leadership with a call to lift all charges from journalists, persecuted for their professional activities.

In his letter the International PEN-Club underscored that it recognizes the person’s right to file a defamation lawsuit to the civil court, when the person’s reputation suffers, but there can be no criminal prosecution resulting in imprisonment for that. The IPC also claims that they need to cancel the ruling to shut down the newspaper, as far as it believes that the decision had been motivated by numerous publications which were critical of the Belarusian authorities, that is it infringes on the right for free expression, guaranteed by the article 19 of the International pact of civil and political rights.

Belarusian authorities keep getting the letters of protest over “Pagonya’s” shutdown from the national PEN-centers of Great Britain, Germany, Russia, Finland, Sweden and others.