The Government's near monopoly of publishing facilities enabled it to exert indirect pressure over the press by controlling the price of newsprint, a critical matter given the precarious finances of most opposition newspapers. Censorship continued at approximately 1996 levels. Although in September the Government officially abolished censorship of military topics, censorship of political topics continued. The Ministry of Information can legally close a newspaper for 1 month for violating censorship rules. Censors deleted portions of newspaper articles or entire articles.
Journalists often exercise self-censorship.
Two major opposition newspapers claimed that 74 and 84 of their issues, respectively, had encountered censorship. The Government banned three issues of smaller opposition newspapers. No journalists were detained or imprisoned. Foreign journalist Irena Lasota, editor of a quarterly journal, was searched and questioned by armed forces personnel after interviewing former president Elchibey in July. The investigation of the 1996 beating of a journalist continued, but no charges were brought.