A Troubling Media Crackdown in Belarus

Alongside their suppression of the leading news agency, the Belarusian government is now taking an additional step towards dismantling the media, cracking down on journalists, and stifling press freedom. Belarus' Supreme Court ordered the Belarusian Association of Journalists (BAJ) to dissolve Belarus's most prominent independent media association.

This is yet another dramatic development that demonstrates the deterioration of press freedom in the eastern European country. The Committee to Protect Journalists described the Supreme Court's decision as "an escalation of the country’s long-running war on press freedom." 

 Although BAJ plans to appeal the court's decision, it has lost its legal status as of this writing. However, the organization’s journalists are committed to continuing their fight. The Belarusian authorities began targeting BAJ a few months ago when they raided the association's office and seized reports, money, and equipment. Authorities alleged the association did not provide them with the revised contracts for three of its regional offices, and the association did not comply with their requests despite being notified.   

Reporters Without Borders (RSF) described the authorities' decision to shut down BAJ as an act to prevent the organization from "continuing to promote independent and pluralistic media and journalism in the country." Belarus dropped five places from 2021 to 2021 in RSF's World Press Freedom Index, moving from 158 to 180.