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“Belarus: Shameful media persecution continues. European Union strongly condemns sentencing of Belsat TV journalists Kaciaryna Andrejeva and Darya Chulcova for simply doing their job and calls for it to be annulled,” spokesman Peter Stano told Twitter. of the chief diplomat of the EU, Josep Borrell.
“We call on the Belarusian authorities to respect fundamental freedoms and stop persecuting journalists,” Stan said in a statement.
A Belarusian court on Thursday sentenced Andreieva and Chulzova to two years in prison for inciting protests against authoritarian President Aliaksandr Lukashenko.
Both journalists, who worked for Polish television Belsat, were arrested on November 15 while broadcasting a protest in Minsk from an apartment on the 14th floor live online.
Massive protests have been taking place in Belarus for half a year against the results of the presidential elections on August 9, which were declared the winners by Lukashenko, who has led the country since 1994. The opposition and western democracies see these. elections as rigged.
“Terrible punishments”
At the time, the US embassy in Minsk said the “dire punishments” meted out to Belsat’s journalists were politically motivated.
The US Embassy condemns the political sentences and harsh prison terms handed down today to punish two journalists from Belstat for their work in informing the public. “This judicial measure adds to the evidence that the objective of the government is not justice, but an attempt to silence the media and restrict the access of the Belarusian people to information for other political purposes,” the embassy said in a statement.
AFP / Photo by Scanpix / Darya Chulcova and Kaciaryna Bachvalava
“The accusations against these journalists, which they have covered and told about the protest and the violent response of the militia, are clearly fictitious,” the embassy added, urging Minsk to release the 11 journalists currently detained.
The United States reiterates its call on the Belarusian authorities to stop harassing and prosecuting journalists and media outlets for covering the news, the statement said. – The United States reiterates the commitment of the Belarusian authorities to the protection and guarantee of fundamental freedoms, in particular the freedom of assembly, expression and the media. Strong and independent media and access to information are mandatory attributes of the rule of law; they are essential to the prosperity of a modern and prosperous society. The people of Belarus deserve a better future, and the United States is firmly on their side. “
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