Report: Dozens of journalists detained in Belarus

[News_Editor]

Report: Dozens of journalists detained in Belarus

2011-07-09 01:25:59 GMT+7 (ICT)

NEW YORK (BNO NEWS) -- Belarusian police detained at least 28 journalists who were covering protest rallies that opposition activists have been holding weekly since late May, the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) said on Thursday.

The nonprofit organization said that, according to the Minsk-based Belarusian Association of Journalists (BAJ) and reports in the local and international press, police in Minsk and other cities across the country detained the journalists on Wednesday. Although most of the detained reporters were released late Wednesday, at least nine of them were expected to appear in court on Thursday.

According to BAJ, it is unclear what charges authorities had brought against them. At least three of them have been sentenced to up to 12 days in jail.

CPJ urged Belarusian authorities to immediately cease their ongoing crackdown against the independent press and release all journalists in state custody.

"These arrests are part of a disturbing pattern of censorship of protests," CPJ Deputy Director Robert Mahoney said. "The Belarusian authorities must allow journalists to cover all rallies and protests freely."

The 'Revolution through Social Networks' online campaign has been organizing rallies since late May in Minsk and in other cities across Belarus. Hundreds of protesters silently march in the streets of Belarus and express their opposition to President Aleksander Lukashenko's economic policies by clapping hands.

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