Belarusian Association of Journalists
The Belarusian Association of Journalists (BAJ) (; ) is a Belarusian professional association of journalists from independent media, created in 1995 to protect freedom of speech, freedom of information, promote the professional standards of journalism, conduct monitoring of Belarusian press, and offer legal support to all media workers. In 1997 BAJ became an associated member of the International Federation of Journalists, since 2013 the Association has been a full member of the European Federation of Journalists. The Association experienced significant pressure from the authorities since the 2000s. The journalists were detained, beaten, forbidden to leave the country, faced  criminal and administrative charges, etc. In the Summer the Ministry of Justice of the Republic of Belarus 2021 issued a warning to BAJ and demanded access to thousands of documents, including all emails for 3.5 years. Part of the required documents was confiscated by the Investigative Committee of Belarus a few months earlier, some were unavailable and kept inside the office, sealed after police searches. A day later after the second warning the Ministry initiated the liquidation process. The Supreme Court of Belarus terminated BAJ license on August 27, 2021. History. Performance. BAJ was founded in 1995, Zhanna Litvina was  elected as its chairman. The association became the most respected media organization in the country, it united more than 1300 members, mainly from independent non-governmental media. Data from BAJ monitoring was widely used in Belarusian media. Activities of the organization included legal assistance to journalists, support of regional press, cooperation with international organizations. BAJ also was engaged in educational programmes, it organized various conferences, seminars, table talks, and training for journalists. It launched such media campaigns as ‘Preserving Historical Heritage’, ‘For Ecological Well Being’, ‘High Standard of Journalism’. The Association considered professional education of journalists to be the most  important part of its work. It cooperated with the European Journalism Centre (EJC), Fojo Media Institute, Norvegian, Danish, and Lithuanian Journalists Unions, the Friedrich Naumann Foundation for Freedom. BAJ network included an office in Minsk and five regional offices in Luninets, Vitebsk, Gomel, Molodechno, and Mogilev. Since 2000 the association published a monthly magazine, "Abajour", that served as a platform for discussion on such topics as journalism ethics, handling information, professional responsibilities, etc. In 2000 BAJ held the first ‘Independent Press Festival’, two years later it organized ‘Closed Newspapers Festival’. On June 6, 2003, BAJ accepted the ‘Declaration of Journalism  Professional Ethics’ and published it on its web-page. Along with the Charter, the Declaration became the main document for BAJ members to rely on in their work. In 2006 the Association was re-registered. Since 2007 BAJ has run the ‘Вольнае слова’ (trans. ‘Free Words’) competition for journalists. BAJ also had an Ethics Commission to review appeals regarding alleged breaches of professional Code of journalism ethics. In 2002-2003 BAJ was leading a nation-wide campaign against the new Law ‘On Mass Media’ that was designed to restrain independent press and stifle freedom of speech. The Association advocated for  decriminalization of three Articles of the Belarus Criminal Code, which provided for up to two years imprisonment for ‘defamation, libel and insult to high-ranking officials or the president’. The Association gathered more than 7000 signatures and appealed to the Constitutional Court in order to verify the Law’s compliance to the State Constitution. In 2013 BAJ became a full member of the European Federation of Journalists. By 2015 the Association had 1150 members. On April 24, 2015, Zhanna Litvina stepped down from the chairman post. Andrey Bastunets was elected as the new head of the organization. Through the years , BAJ offered legal and psychological assistance to the repressed journalists; it helped release the reporters detained while working and ensured provision of medical care to ones put in detention centres. и организовать переписку с заключёнными In 2014 and 2018 the Association stood against new restrictive amendments to the Law ‘On Mass Media’. The reforms were giving space for the authorities to further crack down the independent voices. It introduced obligatory registration of new media outlets, easier procedures allowing to ban websites and suspend whole editorials. State Pressure. The organization suffered pressure from the authorities throughout all its active years. By  2021 Belarus has dropped to the 158 place in RSF World Press Freedom Index Members of BAJ were numerous times detained, beaten, forbidden to leave the country, faced criminal and administrative charges, called for questioning by the KGB and General Prosecutor, their cameras and documents confiscated. Only in 2017-2019 BAJ registered 1079 cases of physical, legal, or administrative attacks on journalists. On January 13, 2010, the Justice Ministry issued a warning and prohibited BAJ to use the word “press” on the credentials of its journalists. In early 2011 seven members of the Association were arrested and faced legal charges  that were explained by human rights defenders as vengeance ot the authorities for coverage of the protests after 2010 Belarusian presidential election. One of them (Paval Sieviaryniec) was sentenced to seven years in prison, others got up to four years. During the 2020–2021 Belarusian protests, BAJ together with Reporters without Borders collected data that showed Belarus was Europe's most dangerous country for journalists in 2020. The association also provided persecuted journalists with legal support, while repeatedly being a target of state repression itself. On 18 January 2021 BAJ declared Andrej Aliaksandraŭ and Iryna Zlobina political prisoners. In March 2021 , BAJ condemned the sentencing of journalist Katsiaryna Barysevich of TUT.BY to half a year in prison for her reporting. License Withdrawal. On February 16, 2021, BAJ suffered a wave of police raids on its office and houses of journalists and their relatives. The Investigative Committee explained the searches with alleged relation of BAJ to a criminal case under Article 342 (Organisation of group actions causing serious harm to social stability). Police detained the association's chairman Andrey Bastunets, several other members and freelance journalists, while searching their homes and the BAJ office. They confiscated laptops, cellphones, documents, hard and flash  drives, handbooks, letters, even flags and books. CPJ and IFJ condemned the arrests. Three days later, the US imposed sanctions on 43 Belarusian officials for undermining the country's democracy, citing the case of the raid on BAJ in particular. On June 9, 2021, the Belarus Justice Ministry initiated an investigation of the Association, however, without issuing any official notification. On June 21, 2021, the Ministry requested thousands of documents, including financial reports, membership list, applications, protocols of sessions, and all emails for 3.5 years. The association managed to submit most of the required documents, except those confiscated in February  by the Investigative Committee. On July 14, 2021, the Investigative Committee searched the Minsk office of the Association. The officers broke down the doors, confiscated equipment, documents, and the company’s safe. After the search the office was sealed off. On July 15, 2021, BAJ received another warning from the Ministry which demanded to submit lacking documents on the next day. BAJ notified the Ministry that it didn’t have access to the office and even didn't know what exactly was confiscated by the police. On July 20, 2021, the authorities blocked BAJ bank account. OSCE Media Freedom Representative  denounced the continuous crackdown on BAJ. On July 21, 2021, the Ministry initiated proceedings aimed at liquidation of the BAJ. BAJ filed a complaint underlining the unreasonable deadline in the circumstances of the office being sealed and documents confiscated. The organization’s license was withdrawn by the Supreme Court of Belarus on August 27, 2021. Reporters Without Borders condemned the liquidation, calling it 'a culmination of a crackdown on independent media' in the country. CPJ Program Director Carlos Martínez de la Serna shared this opinion. Andrei Bastunets promises that the Association will keep working ‘in any possible legal ways’ despite  the license withdrawal. He underlines that BAJ is a community and its members will stay dedicated to their values. The EFJ General Secretary Ricardo Gutiérrez promised support to the Association. As of March 2022, the organization's website is accessible outside Belarus and actively updated. Awards. In 2003, BAJ was honoured with the World Association of Newspapers and News Publishers' Golden Pen of Freedom Award. In 2004, it received the European Parliament's Sakharov Prize. The Atlantic Council presented its Freedom Award to BAJ, the Belarus Free Theater and the Human Rights Center Viasna in 2011. In 2020, BAJ became  the first recipient of the Canada-United Kingdom Media Freedom Award. In 2021, BAJ got the Free Media Award.