Minsk/Warsaw: Belsat journalists need support

The satellite television channel Belsat reported on the grave situation that affects its journalists since the presidential elections in Belarus in August 2020. In total, Belsat journalists were detained 161 times, 27 were sentenced to 400 days in detention and they had to pay fines amounting to 23,514.57 USD in 2020 alone. Belsat was established in 2007 and as a multiplatform media outlet it is targeting Belarusians as well as the entire Russian language-speaking territory of the former USSR. It is a subsidiary of TVP, the Polish public broadcaster. Lukasz Byrski from Belsat TV shared synoptically: “During the crackdown on…

EFJ and IFJ welcome decision not to extradite Julian Assange

Judge Vanessa Baraitser today ruled against Wikileaks founder Julian Assange‘s extradition to the United States arguing it would be “oppressive by reason of Assange’s mental health”. The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) and its UK and Australian affiliates, the NUJ and the MEAA, and the European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) welcome the decision and are urging the authorities to immediately release Julian Assange. The judge argued Assange suffers from depression and that there is a high risk of suicide. If extradited, she considered it likely the US would send him to prison under special administrative measures (SAMs) and wouldn’t prevent Assange from committing suicide. Therefore, she considered his…