Russian journalists’ problems in Belarus :: Charter'97 :: News

March 27, 1997, an NTV reporter Aliaxandar Stupnikau was deprived of accreditation in Belarus for systematic “public opinion desinforming”. March 31 the journalist left the territory of the state in accordance with the demand of passportvisa service management of Belarusian Ministry of Internal Affairs.

July 7, 1997, Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Belarus deprived of accreditation ORT correspondent Paval Sheramet “for information concerning events in the republic misrepresenting” on Aliaxandar Lukashenka’s demand. The authorities’ discontent was induced by the scenery in the “Vremia” program of June 28 where Paval Sheramet called the Independence Day of Belarus a feast invented by Aliaxandar Lukashenka, and conceded that the subbotnik before the holiday was organized because of the lack of funds for liquidating the hurricane consequences.

July 26, 1997, in a Minsk airport ORT reporter Paval Sheramet and driver Yaraslau Auchynnikau were arrested at the time of shooting a video-scenery in the regime frontier zone, on charge of illegal crossing the Belarusian-Lithuanian border. On that very day ORT operator Dmitry Zavadski was detained in Minsk. January 28, 1998, the court of Ashmiany district sentenced Paval Sheramet to 2 and Dmitry Zavadski to 1.5 years of conditional detention.

August 15, 1997, Belarusian frontier-guards detained ORT correspondent Anatol Adamchuk, the channel’s operators Aliaxandar Aganau and Uladzimir Kostsin, and also driver, Belarusian citizen Valery Astashkin, at the Belarusian-Lithuanian frontier nearby the town of Ashmiany. An action was brought against the journalists on the fact of “deliberate encroachment on illegal crossing the frontier”. August 22, 1997, after paying a fine the three detained were exonerated. The confiscated car and cameras were left in the District Department of Internal Affairs of Ashmiany.

March 25, 2000, in Minsk, at an opposition’s demonstration Belarusian authorities arrested almost 40 journalists, including shooting groups of the Russian channels ORT, RTR, NTV and TVC. Some journalists were beaten, two cameras of ORT and RTR got broken. Uladzimir Putsin gave an order to Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Russian Federation to elucidate the circumstances of the Russian journalists’ detentions. The reporters were exonerated on that day; nevertheless, the videocassettes with the records of the events were withdrawn from all the groups.

May 22, 2003, an article by Alena Daineka “Lukashenka strikes attitude” dedicated to the Belarusian-Russian integration process slowing-down was published in “Izvestia” newspaper. May 29, 2003, Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Belarus noticed her officially in connection with the print laws violation. Alena Daineka was accused of damaging the image of Belarus and Belarusian-Russian relationship development.

June 25, 2003, in his report on the funeral of writer Vasil Bykau NTV correspondent Paval Selin declared that the Belarusian authorities impeded the mourning ceremony. Aliaxandar Lukashenka demanded official excuses from the channel, which never followed. June 28, 2003 Paval Selin was deported from Belarus, he was refused to enter the territory of Belarus in the nearest 5 years. July 8, Council of Ministers of Republic of Belarus made the decision to close the correspondent station of NTV.