TV channel Belsat's website, social media pages designated extremist in Belarus
MINSK. July 27 (Interfax) - The website and social media pages of Poland's television channel Belsat have been designated as extremist in Belarus, the Belarusian Interior Ministry's press service said on Tuesday.
"The information resources of BELSAT have been recognized as extremist. The Zheleznodorozhny District Court of Gomel so ruled on July 27, citing an inspection report from the Interior Ministry Main Directorate on Combating Organized Crime and Corruption in the Gomel region," the Interior Ministry's statement said.
"It should be reminded that spreading (reposting) information from extremist sources entails administrative liability with penalty in the form of a fine or arrest," it said.
Earlier in July, the police searched the homes of several Belsat journalists and detained Anna Galeta and Igor Ilyash, both of whom had cooperated with the channel. Igor Ilyash is the husband of Belsat journalist Katerina Andreeva. She is serving a two-year sentence for livestreaming events from Minsk's Square of Change. Subsequently, Galeta walked free from jail on July 23. Ilyash was released on July 26.
Belsat is a satellite TV channel broadcasting in Belarusian, which was founded under an agreement between the Polish Foreign Ministry and TVP (Polish Public Television). In 2014, the Belarusian Supreme Court ordered that the Polish television stop using the Belsat trademark when broadcasting to Belarus.
The television channel is not accredited in Belarus.
Belarus has seen more than 60 searches of the homes and offices of media workers, editorial offices, non-governmental organizations and rights activists since July 10. More than 50 NGOs have been shut down. The Belarusian Investigative Committee has explained the searches of journalists' homes and offices of media outlets and NGOs by their alleged involvement in shadowy financial schemes.