Belarus: CFWIJ condemns the unjustified police harassment against Maria Malevich

/
0.jpg

June 8, 2021- Belarusian journalist Maria Malevich’s apartment was raided by police Friday, June 4. She was not at home at the time of the raid. Maria had gone out of the city when the police arrived. Prior to the police raid, a district police officer visited the relatives of Maria’s husband, Sergei Satsyuk-Grabovsky, who also happens to be a journalist. CFWIJ condemns the police raid and believes it to be a case of persistent legal harassment against Maria. Belarus has become an extremely challenging country for women journalists to carry out their duties. We demand that police authorities stop targeting journalists using different tactics. 

Maria shared on her Facebook account that the visit paid by the district police officer to her husband’s grandparents was not done accidentally. They were threatened by the police that if they do not cooperate, police will confiscate Satsyuk’s equipment. They did not take anything this time. “Before this latest visit, many relatives had informed us about the suspicious presence of young people resting on a bench outside the residence”, Maria added. 

The journalist further shared that she along with her husband have been outside Belarus for less than two weeks. They have a plan to return to their home by the end of July, as their elderly relatives, a dog and jobs are there. 

Belarusian Journalists Association shared the news on Twitter stating, “Police officers came to the apartment of Maria Malevich.”

On May 26, there was a massive crackdown against the independent Belarusian news agency, Tut.by. After the raid authorities suspended the news agency's social media accounts and website. 13 of Tut.by employees were taken into custody, six of which were women journalists. CFWIJ documented the case of Arina Malinovskaya on May 29. She had left Belarus due to obvious threats to her life, but was threatened by contacting her relatives, who are living in Belarus. An investigator called her through her brother in law and threatened her to return or the authorities will keep him in detention. 

The Coalition For Women In Journalism has been documenting the cases of threats and violations against press freedom in Belarus continuously. Read our recent report on Belarus to learn more about the persistent attacks against women journalists. These threats have certainly surged during recent months against women journalists. We demand Belarussian authorities to let press freedom thrive in the country and stop attacking journalists. The continuous targeting and imprisonments have tightened an already restricted environment for the press in the country.