⁍ Belarus has revoked the accreditations of some journalists working for foreign media and covering anti-government protests.
⁍ The accreditations, issued by the Foreign Ministry, were revoked for 17 journalists including a video journalist and a photographer from Reuters.
⁍ Radio Liberty in a report on its website cited the Foreign Ministry as saying the decision to revoke the accreditations was taken for security reasons.
– The US embassy in Minsk says it is “concerned by the continued targeting of journalists, the blocking of independent media and opposition websites, as well as intermittent internet blackouts and detentions of citizens exercising their rights of free assembly and speech.” The move comes after Belarus President Alexander Lukashenko threatened to expel foreign journalists who fueled anti-government protests following last month’s disputed presidential election. Reuters, the BBC, and Radio Liberty are among the foreign media organizations that say their journalists’ accreditations in the country have been revoked. The Belarusian Association of Journalists says 17 journalists had their accreditations revoked, including two from the BBC and four from Radio Liberty, Reuters reports. “We condemn in the strongest possible terms this stifling of independent journalism,” the BBC said in a statement.
Source: https://www.reuters.com/article/us-belarus-election-journalists/belarus-revokes-accreditations-of-journalists-covering-protests-for-foreign-media-idUSKBN25P0LQ