Independent newspaper suspended for three months :: Charter'97 :: News

A three-month suspension has been imposed on the [privately owned] Vecherniy Stolin newspaper in accordance with an order signed by Belarusian Information Minister Uladzimir Rusakevich.

The newspaper changed its focus from entertainment and business to current affairs and the languages from [bilingual] Russian and Belarusian to Russian. The publication failed to provide the Ministry of Information with a written notification about these changes within a month`s time. In addition, the share of advertising exceeded 30 per cent in certain issues. "It is not as bad as it seems. In any case, the Stolinski District will still have an independent newspaper," the founder and editor-in-chief of Vecherniy Stolin, Alyaksandr Ihnatsyuk, told Belapan. He also owns another independent title, Provintsialka, which will most likely be distributed in the town of Slonim.