Belarus: CFWIJ demands journalist Yanina Melnikova’s release immediately

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September 6, 2021 – The editor of the "Green Portal", Yanina Melnikova was detained for 72 hours and yet not released. Security forces raided the journalist's house and took Yanina for interrogation. She is still under custody. The Coalition For Women In Journalism (CFWIJ) demands authorities to release her immediately. Journalism is not a crime. 

 Security officers raided the editor of the "Green Portal'' Yanina Melnikova’s house on September 3 morning. She managed to report her situation on social networks.

 According to the Belarusian Association of Journalists (BAJ), the journalist’s apartment was broken into around 10.10 AM on September 3. She was taken to the Investigative Committee. During the search, her equipment was also confiscated and her status was called ‘witness’.

No further information was given about the raid and detention. 

 Yanina Melnikova is the editor-in-chief of the Green Portal mainly focused on ecology, nature, and rational consumption of resources since 2017. 

 The same morning Iryna Sukhiy, a member of the Ekadom board, the oldest environmental organization, and an activist of the Belarusian Anti-Nuclear Campaign, the house was searched. The search warrant called "three lines of various articles of the Criminal Code."

 Since last year's presidential election, several women journalists have left the country, anticipating the widespread crackdown on freedoms. Journalists and media houses face relentless persecution through unjustified imprisonments and raids.

 The Coalition For Women In Journalism calls on authorities to end targeting and intimidating journalists in the country. We demand an immediate release of Yanina Melnikova. We created a detailed report on the violations committed against women journalists and press freedom in recent months. We have observed an alarming pattern of state-backed intimidation and harassment. A staggering number of women journalists face threats and even imprisonment for speaking their minds. We call on the Belarusian authorities to allow women journalists to report without interference.