Belarus: CFWIJ Condemns Persistent State Harassment Of Alena Yanushkouskaya And Her Family
Location: Belarus
Date: November 18, 2021
The police barged into the home of blogger Alena Yanushkouskaya’s adopted daughter on Thursday to inquire about the journalist. Alena, who was briefly detained and fined for a so-called administrative offence last year in June, has been living abroad since her release. Yet, the police barged into the house of her adopted daughter and stormed her village in Suikava, Vitebsk district in search of her whereabouts. The Coalition For Women In Journalism condemns the persistent harassment of Alena and her family at the hands of state authorities. Intimidation and harassment of journalists must end. Harassing a journalist’s family to submit them into silence cannot be tolerated.
According to Alena's daughter, the police were looking for information on when Alena would be returning home. Authorities also inquired from the neighbors and villagers about Alena's expected return. They maintained that the reason for their unannounced raid was something “offensive and disrespectful” that Alena had posted on the internet.
Alena was forced to leave her country to escape unjustified legal prosecution and arrest for participating in a demonstration last year. The blogger had reported these protests online on her video channel,"Real Belarus". She believes that her latest post was what prompted the search.
According to Alena, the content in her video "Prayer for Belarus with Vyacheslav Barok" was considered extremist material. But the video blog is a series of events in Warsaw about Belarusians, who were forced to leave the country to go to Poland. Alena's channel plays an integral part in broadcasting these videos and violations by the state.
Alena was previously detained by the police on charges of violating the law of mass events on June 22, 2020. She was put in temporary detention for three days before her trial began. The court eventually pronounced her guilty and imposed a fine on her.
The Coalition For Women In Journalism condemns the persistent harassment of Alena Yanushkouskaya, legal and otherwise. It is extremely concerning that the authorities have stooped so low as to target her family and neighborhood. We urge the Belarus authorities to address the issue Alena has been reporting on instead of employing tactics to intimidate and silence her. Journalists must be free to report the truth without fear of government retaliation. Belarus must end its crackdown on the freedom of the press and the citizen’s right to information.
The CFWIJ strongly condemns the police brutality against journalists. We demand the immediate return of the press cards seized from the security forces. Policies to intimidate journalists should be abandoned, and journalism should be practiced under the criteria of freedom of the press.
If you have been harassed or abused in any way, and please report the incident by using the following form.