More than ever, journalists in Belarus need support
January 7, 2021
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Journalists are still being detained in Belarus, months after a rigged presidential election. Among the latest to have been arrested is Yulia Slutskaya, founder of the Press Club Belarus.
Yulia Slutskaya is a prominent Belarusian journalist and the founder of the local Press Club, which runs educational and cultural initiatives relating to journalism, and hosts professional development events. In July 2016 I had the pleasure of being invited to meet with her, and with her students of journalism, to share my experience in the media.
Political oppression
Yulia, together with five other Press Club Belarus’ employees, was detained on December 24. Prior to that, the Club had reported on the detentions of journalists covering the anti-government protests in the country, ongoing since a rigged presidential election in August 2020.
Belarus charges independent journalists
January 1, 2021
MINSK: Four staff at an independent Belarusian press association have been charged with tax evasion, a lawyer for the group’s founder said on Thursday, as the authorities continue to crack down on peaceful protests.
Yulia Slutskaya, a journalist who founded the Belarusian Press Club in 2016, has been charged with large-scale tax evasion , her lawyer Anton Gashinsky told AFP, and will remain in pre-trial detention until February 23.
Slutskaya, who is also a member of the board for the Belarus Association of Journalists (BAJ), was detained last week after returning to Belarus from a holiday abroad. On Wednesday a state audit body said it was carrying out verifications of tax violations including large sums of money coming in from abroad .
Belarus Charges Leaders Of Independent Press Club With Tax Crimes As Crackdown Continues
December 31, 2020 20:07 GMT
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The founder of an independent Belarusian press group and several associates taken into custody last week have been charged with tax evasion and related crimes in a case that comes against the backdrop of a continuing state crackdown on dissent.
The daughter of Press Club founder Yulia Slutskaya said via Facebook that her mother had been charged with large-scale tax evasion.
A lawyer for the group confirmed the charges against Slutskaya and said charges alleged that at least four staff members were being charged as co-conspirators.
Belarus charges independent journalists with tax evasion
Four independent journalists who have been critical of President Alexander Lukashenko face seven years in prison on charges of large-scale tax evasion. Journalists have been detained 477 times this year in Belarus.
Protesters have taken to the streets of Belarus since the election in August 2020 they say was rigged
Four staff at an independent Belarusian press association have been charged with tax evasion, a lawyer for the group s founder said Thursday.
Yulia Slutskaya, a journalist who founded the Belarusian Press Club in 2016, has been charged with large-scale tax evasion, her lawyer Anton Gashinsky told AFP news agency. She will remain in pretrial detention until February 23.
23.12.2020, 17:04
Repression of the independent press must end.
The European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) demanded an immediate end to repressions against journalists and the release of the Press Club representatives detained the day before. The corresponding statement is posted on the organization s website, tut.by writes.
As the organization notes, after the introduction of new sanctions by the EU, Belarusian Foreign Minister
Uladzimir Makei announced retaliatory measures against Belarusian organizations that operate with the support of foreign embassies: Among the first victims of this new wave of repression is
Yulia Slutskaya, founder of the Press Club Belarus, Member of the Board of BAJ.