Belarus, No Friend of the Press, Finds New Ways to Limit What’s Published

Belarus, No Friend of the Press, Finds New Ways to Limit What’s Published
Belarusian Interior Ministry officers search an office of the Belsat television channel in Minsk, Belarus, March 31, 2017 (AP photo by Sergei Grits).

Editor’s note: This article is part of an ongoing series about press freedom and safety in various countries around the world.

Journalists in Belarus have experienced a wave of harassment, intimidation and criminal prosecution from state authorities in recent months. The crackdown has been severe even by the standards of a country that is routinely cited by watchdogs as one of the worst violators of press freedoms. Conditions are only expected to worsen as new restrictions on web-based communication come into effect later this year. In an email interview with WPR, Andrei Bastunets, chair of the Belarusian Association of Journalists, discusses the grim situation facing independent journalists in the former Soviet republic.

World Politics Review: How would you describe the current situation in Belarus regarding press freedoms and the media landscape overall?

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