Censorship in Belarus, although prohibited by the country's constitution, is enforced by a number of laws. These include a law that makes insulting the president punishable by up to five years in prison, and another that makes criticizing Belarus abroad punishable by up to two years in prison.
Freedom of the press in Belarus remains extremely restricted. State-owned media are subordinated to the president and harassment and censorship of independent media are routine. The government subjects both independent and foreign media to systematic political intimidation, especially for reporting on the deteriorating economy and human rights abuses. Journalists are harassed and detained for reporting on unauthorized demonstrations or working with unregistered media outlets. Journalists have been killed in suspicious circumstances."The death of Oleg Bebenin" , Michael Harris, Index on Censorship, 4 September 2010 Most local independent outlets regularly practice self-censorship.
Reporters Without Borders ranked Belarus 154th out of 178 countries in its 2010 Press Freedom Index.Press Freedom Index 2010 , Reporters Without Borders, 20 October 2010 In the 2011 Freedom House Freedom of the Press report, Belarus scored 92 on a scale from 10 (most free) to 99 (least free), because the Lukashenko regime systematically curtails press freedom. This score placed Belarus 9th from the bottom of the 196 countries included in the report and earned the country a "Not Free" status."Country report: Belarus", Freedom of the Press 2011, Freedom House, 21 April 2011 In 2021, after a year-long purge on independent media by Lukashenko regime, the country dropped down to the 158th place in the PFI rating.
Registration and state control on the media
The Ministry of Information of Belarus was established in 2001Elena Kononova, Belarus , EJC Media Landscapes, circa 2010 and serves as Belarus' media regulator. Licensing and registration procedures are opaque and politicized. Since 2009 all media outlets, including websites, need to register or face blockage. Independent publications have been forced to use foreign-based internet domains. Outlets that "threaten the state's interests" can also be denied accreditation and shut down.
The government established in February 2009 a Public Coordination Council in the Sphere of Mass Information, aimed at the coordination of interaction of state management, public associations, and other organizations carrying out activities in the sphere of mass information; maintenance of correct application of the law on mass media and other legislation in the sphere of mass information; consideration of the questions as issues from applications to the law on mass media.
Since December 2014, websites can be blocked without a court order after two warnings within 12 months. Mass media status was expanded, and liability for contents was widened to include user comments.
A state commission was established in August 2014 to evaluate whether media outlets contain "extremist" materials, possible to a ban under a 2007 counter-extremism law.
During the 2020 Belarusian protests, the Belarusian edition of Komsomolskaya Pravda newspaper failed to print three editions, and Narodnaja Volya failed to print one newspaper edition (both newspapers had a contract with the government-controlled printing house). The Belarusian Association of Journalists said that the real cause was not technical troubles but an attempt to block information about the protests and violations of human rights. Two other independent newspapers (Belgazeta and Svobodnye Novosti) were also unable to print new editions in Belarus.Свежую «толстушку» «Комсомольская правда» вынужденно печатала в России New editions of Komsomolskaya Pravda and Narodnaja Volya were printed in Russia, but the state network of newsstands, "Belsoyuzpechat'", refused to take them for sale. These newspapers also reported that the post service delayed the delivery by subscription.
In January 2021, Brestskaya Gazeta was forced to stop issuing printed newspapers.В редакцию «Брестской газеты» пришли силовики In July 2021, the Nasha Niva newspaper was forced to stop activity in Belarus after arrests of its editors.«Наша Нива» прекратила работу в Беларуси из-за давления силовиков In July 2021, Maladziechna-based Rehiyanalnaya hazieta (, Regional newspaper) announced that it was forced to stop issuing printed newspapers after searches and interrogation of its employees."Региональная газета" приостанавливает выход печатного издания In June 2021, the national postal service Belposhta refused to distribute Novy Chas by subscription, and in August 2021, Novy Chas announced that it was forced to stop issuing printed newspapers due to the refusal of all companies to publish it.Выпуск газеты «Новы Час» приостановлен: частная типография отказалась ее печатать
State control over broadcast media The state maintains a virtual monopoly on domestic broadcast media, only the state media broadcasts nationwide, and the content of smaller television and radio stations is tightly restricted. The government has banned most independent and opposition newspapers from being distributed by the state-owned postal and kiosk systems, forcing the papers to sell directly from their newsrooms and use volunteers to deliver copies, but authorities sometimes harass and arrest the private distributors.
The Russian media is allowed to transmit television programming, sell newspapers and conduct journalistic activities in Belarus (though some Russian journalists have been expelled by the Belarusian government), thus giving some members of the public, typically those in large cities with many Russian residents, access to an alternative point of view in the Russian language (nearly all Belarusians understand and most of them speak Russian). Several opposition media outlets broadcast from nearby countries to provide Belarusians alternative points of view. This includes the Belsat TV station and European Radio for Belarus (Eŭrapéjskaje Rádyjo dla Biełarúsi)."Dissent hits Belarus via Warsaw", Gordon Fairclough, Wall Street Journal, 29 January 2011
In 2014–2015, dozens of freelance journalists were fined for working with foreign media (including Belarusian-language media based in the EU) without official state accreditation from the Foreign Ministry, against Article 22.9(2) of the Belarusian Code on Administrative Offence. Journalists were fined several hundreds of euros for having published through foreign media, rather than based on the content of their work. Computer equipment was also seized. The journalists fined had published on Polish-based Belsat TV, Deutsche Welle. Procedural guarantees, including the hearing of witnesses in court, were reportedly not followed by Belarusian authorities, but appeals were rejected. The prosecution of freelancers was condemned by the Belarusian Association of Journalists, which deemed it a gross violation of the standards of freedom of expression, as well as by the OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media and by the European Federation of Journalists (EFJ). Since April 2014, 38 freelance journalists have been fined €200-500, totalling over €8,000 - some of them being repeatedly prosecuted and fined.Freelance journalists in Belarus face fines for working with foreign media, Index on Censorship, 6 October 2015
In 2012, the Belarusan largest state network MTIS stopped broadcasting Euronews for unknown reasons. Euronews was the last independent TV channel available in Belarus.
Charges, attacks and threats against journalists 2010s In 2014 the media environment in Belarus remained extremely restrictive. More than 20 journalists were questioned, warned or fined in 2014 for "illegal production and distribution of media products". Many were targeted for contributing without accreditation to foreign-based media in Poland and Lithuania. Some foreign journalists were refused accreditation at the Ice Hockey World Championships. Some were turned back at the border, others were required to obtain a separate accreditation to cover non-sport-related issues.Freedom House, 2015 Belarus freedom of the press report
Arbitrary detention, arrests and harassment of journalists are the norm in Belarus. Anti-extremism legislation targets independent journalism, including materials deemed contrary to the honour of the President of Belarus. Independent reporting is deterred by the threat of closure of media outlets.Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, Background report on The Protection of media freedom in Europe , prepared by Mr William Horsley, special representative for media freedom of the Association of European Journalists, AS/Cult (2014) 25, 18 June 2014, p. 12
Censorship in Belarus, although prohibited by the country's constitution, is enforced by a number of laws. These include a law that makes insulting the president punishable by up to five years in prison, and another that makes criticizing Belarus abroad punishable by up to two years in prison.
The Belarusian journalist Andrzej Poczobut has been repeatedly charged with defamation against the President since 2011. In September 2013 the State Prosecutor dropped all charges for lack of evidence and released him from a 3-year suspended sentence. In May 2014 the wife of Babruysk-based blogger Aleh Zhalnou was prosecuted for alleged violence against a police officer. Their son was then sentenced to three years in a penal colony and a $5,000 fine for violence against a traffic police officer. Zhalnou himself has faced over a dozen trials, was repeatedly summoned by the police, and had his professional equipment (cameras) confiscated several times. In November 2014 the journalist Alyaksandr Alesin of the independent newspaper Belarys i rynok was detained by the State Security Committee (KGB) and then charged with espionage and treason, after he had written about military issues concerning the Russo-Ukrainian War.
2020s
Several cases of obstruction of journalistic work by the government were reported before the 2020 presidential election. In Mahilioŭ, Deutsche Welle collaborating journalist Aliaksandr Burakoŭ was arrested on August 5. He was accused of disorderly conduct.В Могилеве журналиста Буракова приговорили к 10 суткам ареста Estonian ERR journalist Anton Alekseev reported that he was forced to stop making videos of paddy wagons in the centre of Minsk, being threatened by the possibility of arrest. Anton Trafimovich of Radio Liberty was arrested on July 15 while streaming online, and his nose was broken during the arrest; after quick release, he tried to testify damage, but was arrested again near the hospital. Several other journalists were arrested more than once during the electoral campaign. On July 20, it was estimated that over 40 journalists had been arrested in Belarus in the last two months.