2010-03-13: Law on mass media a setback for freedom of speech

A year after Belarus imposed a law regulating mass media the legal basis for free media to act in Belarus is decisively weakened. The positive changes in the media field in late 2008 and early 2009 were neither systematic nor definitive, according to Belarusian Association of Journalists (BAJ).

The law implies that existing media must re-register and that any media outlet can be closed down by the court after two warnings from the authorities. The introduction of the law on mass media shows that the Belarusian authorities intend to control the freedom speech in Belarus, BAJ says in its annual report for 2009.

Read the report Mass Media in Belarus 2009

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