Yulia Slutskaya, the founder of Press Club Belarus, was arrested on tax evasion charges. The Coalition For Women In Journalism condemns the arrest and demands authorities immediately investigate the legitimacy of these allegations.

After the controversial elections won by President Alexander Lukashenko in Belarus, tens of thousands of people continue to flood the streets despite harsh police measures. Thousands gathered on Sunday during the 90th consecutive day of demonstrations, demanding the resignation of the nation’s president. During the protests, the Belarusian Association of Journalists (BAJ) confirmed that at least nine journalists were arrested. The Coalition For Women In Journalism denounces these arrests and demands the release of all detainees.

Since the beginning of the year, the Belarusian Association of Journalists has recorded more than 400 cases of harassment of journalists for their professional activities. Unlawful acts against journalists hiked with the elections nearing and the protests that followed afterwards.

The Coalition For Women In Journalism is appalled by yet another serious breach of press freedom. On October 4, 16 journalists were detained in Belarus, seven of them being women. While four of the detained journalists who were impeded at work were released after verification of their documents at police stations; three of them still remain under custody and are awaiting trial.

Arbitrary detention of and violence against journalists in Belarus has become the “norm” in the past month, following the elections on August 9 and the disputed “victory” of Aleksandr Lukashenko, who has ruled the country with an iron fist for 26 years.

With ongoing protests sparked after the allegedly false victory announcement of Alexander Lukashenko who has been ruling the country for an iron fist for 26 years, on Sunday, demonstrators marched to the presidential palace to “celebrate” Lukashenko’s 66th birthday.

In the 20 days since the disputed presidential elections, Belarus has presented anything but ideal working conditions for journalists. Following the allegedly falsified election results which put “Europe’s last dictator” Alexander Lukashenko back to power, Belarus has begun to tighten its grip on journalists. Belarusian Association of Journalists documented over 100 cases of detention of journalists since August 9th. Detained journalists were kept in horrifying conditions, raising concern globally. The journalists were also beaten and some were deliberately targeted with rubber bullets.

Belarus has been grabbing the world’s attention in a notorious way for the past month as citizens rejected the suspicious election results and took to the streets. The country has been on the headlines for torture and mistreatment of protestors, including journalists.

Aleksandr Lukashenko’s early announcement of “victory” brought crowds into the streets on the night of August 9 with journalists getting the brunt of police violence. The Coalition For Women In Journalism documented at least 15 threats and attacks against women journalists working on the ground for the past two weeks.

Journalist Alena Scharbinskaya has been hospitalized due to the brutal beatings she experienced while kept in a Belarussian detention center. Scharbinskaya was held for three days at the now-infamous detention center known among locals as “Akrestsin”. She was one of hundreds of journalists detained in Belarus last week, following the escalation of protests disputing the results of the August 9 presidential election.

Aleksandr Lukashenko, who has ruled the country with an iron fist for 26 years, declared an early victory in the presidential elections held on August 9 in Belarus. The Election Commission, accused of acting in favor of Lukashenko, reported that the 65-year-old current president received 80.23 percent of the votes.

The Coalition For Women In Journalism stands with the right to peaceful assembly and right to information of Belarussian citizens. The protests that sparked after the rigged election which Alexander Lukashenko announced his victory before the polls were closed is in it’s fifth day.

Aleksandr Lukashenko, who has ruled the country with an iron fist for 26 years, declared an early victory in the presidential elections held yesterday in Belarus.