U.N. committee says Belarus violated rights of four journalists

April 28, BPN. The U.N. Human Rights Committee has concluded that Belarus violated the right of four journalists to collect and disseminate information, the Belarusian Association of Journalists (BAJ) reported today.

The journalists, Taćciana Smotkina, Zmicier Łupač, Tamara Ščapiotkina and Łarysa Ščyrakova, complained to the committee that they were unfairly held accountable and fined by the authorities for the alleged unauthorized dissemination of media content.

The Human Rights Committee considered the merits of their complaints on March 14. The International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights allows authorities to restrict the freedom of expression in certain circumstances, such as for the protection of national security or public order, it said.

Belarusian officials told the committee that these reporters violated the media law because they were working without accreditation.

But the state licensing of journalists is incompatible with the international human rights treaty, the U.N. committee said. It also pointed to the Belarusian Constitution, which protects the right to receive and disseminate information.

The Belarusian authorities punished the reporters based on national law, but failed to justify the move. Therefore, Belarus arguably must take measures to cover the journalists’ fines and legal expenses.

The U.N. committee hopes that Belarus would inform it about the measures taken.