Two newspapers in information ministry’s crosshairs

June 16, BPN. The information ministry in Belarus has cancelled the license of a current affairs newspaper and blocked the website of a sports newspaper citing media law violations and a break in printing.

It said that Narodnya Volya, which focuses on politics, has not been printed for months. The newspaper operates online after facing officials’ pressure in 2021.

It pointed out that it blocked Pressball‘s website “after monitoring its compliance with the national media legislation.” The sports newspaper avoided controversial topics but tolerated dissenting voices on its online forum.

Most independent titles discontinued their print versions amid the wide scale crackdown on freedom of speech that followed the 2020 presidential election.

The Belarusian government ranks 157th on Reporters Without Borders’ World Press Freedom Index.