Ukraine, Kiev (AP) —The oldest newspaper in Belarus was banned on Tuesday, the 115th anniversary of its founding. This is the latest move in the government’s relentless crackdown on independent media in the former Soviet state.
The Nasha Niva newspaper was outlawed as a militant by the Central District Court in Minsk, which acted at the request of the Ministry of Information.
Under this ruling, anyone who publishes or reposts Nasha Niva’s material will be punished by imprisonment with work for up to seven years.
Belarusian authorities blocked the online newspaper in July and arrested editor-in-chief Yahor Martsinovich and journalist Andrey Skurko.
Overall, 29 Belarusian journalists have been detained, sentenced or awaiting trial.
Most other Nasha Niva journalists left the country, continued to publish newspapers online, and changed their domain to avoid blocking.
“Authorities continue to destroy the independent media of Belarus and call everyone a radical,” said Andrey Bastunes, head of the Belarusian Association of Journalists. “The situation in Belarus is worse than in Cuba and Iran and is approaching North Korean standards.”
He noted that Nasha Niva was widely mentioned in school textbooks as part of the national heritage, adding that it was not immediately clear how Belarusian authorities would handle the situation after the ban. ..
Nasha Niva has extensively struck a major anti-government protest last year after President Alexander Lukashenko was handed the sixth term after a presidential vote in August 2020, which was accused by opposition and the West. I picked it up.
Belarusian officials responded with a thorough crackdown on more than 35,000 arrests and thousands being beaten by police.
Tensions increased at the Belarus-Polish border this month over the influx of immigrants. The EU has accused the Lukashenko administration of organizing the surge of eastern immigrants as a “hybrid attack” in retaliation for Block’s sanctions against Belarus against crackdowns on opposition.
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Belarus’ oldest newspaper is banned as a radical | WGN Radio 720
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