Belarusian Association of Journalists

BAJ was founded in 1995, Zhanna Litvina was elected as its chairman. Since 2000 the association published a monthly magazine, Abajour,[15] that served as a platform for discussion on such topics as journalism ethics, handling information, professional responsibilities, etc.[6] In 2000 BAJ held the first ‘Independent Press Festival’, two years later it organized ‘Closed Newspapers Festival’.[16] In 2003, BAJ accepted the ‘Declaration of Journalism Professional Ethics’. Along with the Charter, the Declaration became the main document for BAJ members to rely on in their work.[17] In 2006 the Association was re-registered.[18] Since 2007 BAJ has run the ‘Вольнае слова’ (trans. ‘Free Words’) competition for journalists.[6][19][20]

In 2002-2003, BAJ led a nation-wide campaign against the new Law ‘On Mass Media’ that was designed to restrain independent press and stifle freedom of speech.[21] The Association advocated for decriminalization of three Articles of the Belarus Criminal Code, which provided for up to two years imprisonment for ‘defamation, libel and insult to high-ranking officials or the president’. The Association gathered more than 7000 signatures and appealed to the Constitutional Court in order to verify the Law’s compliance to the State Constitution.[22][23][24]

In 2013 BAJ became a full member of the European Federation of Journalists.[25] By 2015 the Association had 1150 members. On April 24, 2015, Zhanna Litvina stepped down from the chairman post. Andrey Bastunets was elected as the new head of the organization.[26][9]

The organization suffered pressure from the authorities throughout all its active years.[27] Members of BAJ were numerous times detained, beaten, forbidden to leave the country, faced criminal and administrative charges, called for questioning by the KGB and General Prosecutor, their cameras and documents confiscated.[28] Only in 2017-2019 BAJ registered 1079 cases of physical, legal, or administrative attacks on journalists.[29]

On January 13, 2010, the Justice Ministry issued a warning and prohibited BAJ to use the word “press” on the credentials of its journalists.[30] In early 2011 seven members of the association were arrested and faced legal charges that were explained by human rights defenders as vengeance of the authorities for coverage of the protests after 2010 Belarusian presidential election. One of them (Paval Sieviaryniec) was sentenced to seven years in prison, others got up to four years.[31][32][33]

In 2014 and 2018 the Association stood against new restrictive amendments to the Law ‘On Mass Media’. The reforms were giving space for the authorities to further crack down the independent voices. It introduced obligatory registration of new media outlets, easier procedures allowing to ban websites and suspend whole editorials.[21]

During the 2020–2021 Belarusian protests, BAJ together with Reporters without Borders collected data that showed Belarus was Europe's most dangerous country for journalists in 2020.[34] The association also provided persecuted journalists with legal support, while repeatedly being a target of state repression itself.[35] On 18 January 2021 BAJ declared Andrej Aliaksandraŭ and Iryna Zlobina political prisoners.[36] In March 2021, BAJ condemned the sentencing of journalist Katsiaryna Barysevich of TUT.BY to half a year in prison for her reporting.[37]

On February 16, 2021, BAJ suffered a wave of police raids on its office and houses of journalists and their relatives.[38] The Investigative Committee explained the searches with alleged relation of BAJ to a criminal case under Article 342 (Organisation of group actions causing serious harm to social stability). Police detained the association's chairman Andrey Bastunets, several other members and freelance journalists, while searching their homes and the BAJ office. They confiscated laptops, cellphones, documents, hard and flash drives, handbooks, letters, even flags and books.[39] CPJ and IFJ condemned the arrests.[40][41] Three days later, the US imposed sanctions on 43 Belarusian officials for undermining the country's democracy, citing the case of the raid on BAJ in particular.[42]

On June 9, 2021, the Belarus Justice Ministry initiated an investigation of the Association.[43][44] On June 21, the Ministry requested thousands of documents, including financial reports, membership list, applications, protocols of sessions, and all emails for 3.5 years.[45][46][47][48] BAJ filed a complaint underlining the unreasonable deadline in the circumstances of the office being sealed and documents confiscated.[45] The organization’s license was withdrawn by the Supreme Court of Belarus on August 27.[49] Reporters Without Borders condemned the liquidation, calling it 'a culmination of a crackdown on independent media' in the country.[50] CPJ Program Director Carlos Martínez de la Serna shared this opinion.[51]

Andrei Bastunets promises that the Association will keep working ‘in any possible legal ways’ despite the license withdrawal. He underlines that BAJ is a community and its members will stay dedicated to their values.[43][52] The EFJ General Secretary Ricardo Gutiérrez promised support to the Association.[2] As of March 2022, the organization's website is accessible outside Belarus and actively updated.[53][54]

On February 28, 2023, the KGB has designated the Association as an 'extremist formation'; as a result, participation in it can be punished with a prison sentence.[55][56]