June 26, 2001

25/06/2001: BELARUS STEPS AGAINST MEDIA AND JOURNALIST

Vienna, 25 June 2001

On 19 June 2001 the offices and newsroom of the independent Minsk newspaper Nasha Svoboda were raided by the financial police. According to the state officials certain leaflets from 1999 were printed at a publishing house that belonged to the editor-in-chief of Nasha Svoboda. Simmilar activity was against Borisovskie Novosti on 16 March 2001.

Additional on 20 June 2001 the home of Den and Belarusky Chas journalist and human rights activist Sergei Anisko was raided. He is being investigated by the authorities regarding his publications in the newspapers Den’ and Belaruski Chas.

The South East Europe Media Organisation (SEEMO) condemns the attacks against journalists and media in Belarus.