Belarusian Authorities Suspend Major Independent Newspaper

Belarusian Authorities Suspend Major Independent Newspaper

The Belarusian Review, May 28, 2003

A Journal for Western Man-- Issue XXVIII-- December 15, 2004

The Ministry of Information suspended publication of the independent newspaper Belorusskaya delovaya gazeta and its supplement BDG. Dlya sluzebnogo polzovaniya for three months on 28 May, BelaPAN reported, quoting Pyotr Martsau, director of Marat, the company that publishes both periodicals. The ministry reportedly said it suspended the publications "for gross [and] numerous violations of the law." Last week, the ministry issued two warnings to Belorusskaya delovaya gazeta and one warning to BDG. Dlya sluzebnogo polzovaniya, charging that the periodicals broke the law by defaming President Alexander Lukashenko and publishing materials about criminal investigations without official permission. Under Belarus' restrictive media law, two official warnings provide sufficient grounds for a court to close a media outlet. Martsau said he will appeal the ministry's decision in court. The Russian-language Belorusskaya delovaya gazeta has been appearing in Belarus for 11 years.

This article was originally featured in the Belarusian Review
Vol. 15 (No. 2), but is no longer accessible on the website of said organization. It has accordingly been salvaged and again made available to the public by The Rational Argumentator.

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