Belarus: CFWIJ condemns the crackdown and house raids against TUT.BY and editor Marina Zolotova

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May 19, 2021 - The offices of TUT.BY media and the house of its editor-in-chief Marina Zolotova were raided by the Belarusian state authorities under the guise of tax evasion. The media company's website was also blocked by the time of the raids. The Coalition For Women In Journalism (CFWIJ) is deeply concerned about the deteriorating state of press freedom and condemns the crackdown against opposed news outlets in the country. We demand the Belarusian officials end these heinous practices aiming to intimidate journalists.

Security forces raided the offices of major independent news site TUT.BY and home of the editor-in-chief Marina Zolotova. Belarusian authorities also took the news outlet’s website offline. Department of Financial Investigation officials said that a criminal case was filed against TUT.BY over charges of evasion of taxes and fees on a large scale. The officials also came to the offices of other projects related to TUT.BY, named ‘hoster.by’ and ‘av.by’. 

Marina Zolotova’s door was broken during the raid. According to the Belarusian Association of Journalists (BAJ), the incident happened in the morning and eyewitnesses said there was a lot of noise and rumbling.

During the raid at TUT.BY offices, reporters and photographers including Daria Buryakina were prevented from answering their personal phones. Journalist Elena Tolkacheva’s house was also searched by the police. 

Since the dubious presidential election of August 9, 2020, the dust has yet to settle in Belarus. Following the election results, which reaffirmed “Europe’s last dictator”, Alexander Lukashenko, in power, Belarus tightened its restrictions on journalists.

Within a week, the CFWIJ reported three different cases against journalists in Belarus. On May 13, police detained photographer Tatsyana Kapitonava while she was covering a conference at Startup Family coworking centre, in Minsk. Police took the photographer when she was filming the Emerge conference. After her appearance in the court, Tatsyana was sentenced to 10 days of detention over charges of participating unauthorised demonstration. 

Also, Tut.by reporter Lyubov Kasperovich found guilty over the same charge Tatsyana was convicted of. She was sentenced to 15 days of detention on May 17. 

The Coalition For Women In Journalism is deeply concerned about the increasing crackdown on dissenting voices in Belarus. We find these practices attempting to intimidate journalists. The actions of the Belarusian state are condemnable. We urge the global community to take notice of the human rights violations rampant in the country.