OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media Harlem Desir has expressed concern about the ongoing practice of imposing penalties on journalists working without accreditation in Belarus.
“This detrimental practice effectively bans journalists from reporting on issues of public interest and has a crippling effect on pluralism and freedom of the media in Belarus,” Desir said in a statement published on May 8.
The OSCE representative urged the Belarusian authorities to amend the law on mass media and grant all journalists the right to seek and disseminate information without any hindrance.
“Accreditation should facilitate the work of the press, not be used as a tool of administrative pressure resulting in punitive measures,” he said.
Desir made this statement due to yet another administrative fines imposed on a number of journalists contributing to the Poland-based Belsat television channel.
According to the OSCE, freelance journalists have been fined about 40 times for working without accreditation in Belarus in 2018 alone.
