The TV channel, broadcasting by satellite and via the Internet from Warsaw, but at the same time positioning itself as the first independent Belarusian channel, was blocked back in August 2020. Now his website and social networks have been recognized as extremist
The court of the Zheleznodorozhny district of Gomel recognized all the information resources of the Polish TV channel “Belsat” as extremist. This was reported by the press secretary of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Belarus Olga Suitcase in Telegram.
“The basis for this was the materials of the inspection of the GUBOPiK department of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Gomel region,” the report says.
The Ministry of Internal Affairs did not specify what the audit of the Department for combating organized Crime and corruption was related to.
Facebook instantiated a document with a court decision, which states that the TV channel’s website, as well as its pages on social networks VKontakte, Instagram, Facebook and Telegram, were recognized as extremist.
Alexey Dikovitsky, the vice-director of the TV channel, told RBC that the TV channel does not consider this court decision legitimate and will certainly not “engage in any legal procedures like appealing”.
“This is absurd. We continue to work in any way. Fortunately, we live in the XXI century, and not 30 years ago, when there was no Internet and it was difficult to get information from the place, broadcasting abroad. But we can do it. Of course, it is unpleasant, because there may be consequences for people who, for example, repost our materials. However, we continue to work, and no court will forbid us to do this, ” he said.
User’s facebook account BELSAT.TV
In May, “Belsat”, which positions itself as the first independent TV channel in Belarus, reported on the visit of security forces to the studio of the program “Each of us”. “We are aware of the detention of technical employees,” the message said. The editorial office of the TV channel then told RBC that the visit of the security forces could be connected with the release of a program with the participation of former security forces, after the broadcast of which two guests of the program were detained and placed in a temporary detention center on Akrestin in Minsk.
In mid-July, according to Tut.by and Nexta, about ten employees of Belsat and several freelance journalists were subjected to searches. Investigative actions were carried out in Minsk, Gomel, Pinsk and Grodno. The security forces also searched a human rights activist, a member of the board of the “Legal Initiative” Alina Ustinova, and journalists of “Radio Liberty” Valentina Zhdanko and Inna Studzinskaya.
“Belsat” broadcasts via satellite and via the Internet from Warsaw. It was created in 2007 under an agreement between the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Poland and Polish Television “as a structural unit of Polish television”, according to the website of the TV channel. The agreement provides for long-term cooperation and financing of the Belsat TV channel.
In February, a court in Minsk found Belsat journalists Daria Chultsova and Ekaterina Andreeva guilty of organizing protests for streaming from the rally. They committed a crime “by voicing information”, the prosecutor said at the trial. They were sentenced to two years in a penal colony.
More than 70 media outlets were blocked in Belarus in August last year amid protests that occurred after the presidential election (Alexander Lukashenko, who has been in power since 1994, won). Then Belsat was also blocked.Instagram Live broadcasts and instant news on our Instagram