The OSCE is concerned about the persecution of journalists in Belarus

The OSCE Special Representative, Dunja Mijatovic, has sent a letter to the head of the Belarusian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, condemning the continuing pressure on journalists. She called the actions of the authorities "a monstrous violation of the obligations of Belarus in the OSCE framework."

The Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) expressed concern at the continuing pressure on the Belarusian and foreign journalists by the authorities in Minsk. The organization sent a letter to the Foreign Minister of Belarus, Sergei Martynov, in which it appealed “to the common sense and reason” of the authorities, urging them to stop “this unacceptable practice in relation to the media.” The OSCE Special Representative on Freedom of the Media, Dunja Mijatovic, reported this on Tuesday, 5 April.

”The government continues to intimidate and harass the independent media. This alarming trend was intensified after the presidential elections on 19 December 2010 and has now reached a critical point,” it is stated in the declaration of Mijatovich, distributed by the press service of the OSCE. According to the envoy, the repressions of the Belarusian authorities towards the representatives of the media are “a monstrous violation of the obligations of Belarus in the OSCE framework.”

In his letter, Mijatovic listed instances of pressure on journalists and media by the Belarusian authorities. In particular, she was seriously concerned about the “criminal prosecution of journalists Irina Khalip and Natalya Radina”. The letter also mentions the numerous arrests of journalists and the harassment of the correspondent of the Polish edition of “Gazeta Wyborcza”, Andrei Pochobut.