State officials cracked down on civilians and journalists for organizing a protest rally against President Alexander Lukashenko. Of those arrested, at least five are journalists, most of them women. The continued repression of civil liberties and free press in the country has sent a wave of outrage in the international community.

Tatsiana Nyadbai, a deputy chairman of Belarusian PEN Centre, was interrogated by an investigation committee. The investigation is linked to a raid conducted on the Press Club and the homes of several of its employees on December 22, 2020. Tatsiana Nyadbai worked as a coordinator with the Press Club up until 2017. She has signed non-disclosure agreements that restrict her from disclosing any details of this interrogation. CFWIJ is troubled by the three-hour questioning of the journalist and considers it an intimidation tactic. We offer Tatsiana our support and hope that the investigative committee will respect the journalist's integrity.

Katsyaryna Andreyeva and Darya Chultsova were sentenced to two years imprisonment in a minimum-security penal colony. The journalists were arrested for covering a protest rally last year.

Security forces raided the homes of several journalists and human rights activists earlier this month. Offices of the Belarusian Association of Journalists (BAJ) and Human Rights Center Viasna were also searched without any real grounds, in what appears to be a fresh crackdown on civil liberties by the authorities. Freelance journalist Larysa Shchyrakova was amongst those targeted.

The police arrested journalists Alina Skrabunova and Aliaksandr Sidareuski who are affiliated with Belsat TV on Friday. They were released later in the day, however, a summon from the courts was sent out to both of them.

Belsat journalists Katsiaryna Andreyeva and Darya Chultsova face up to three years sentence in prison over their journalistic coverage of protests held across the country. The first hearing of the trial against the journalists was held today. The Coalition For Women In Journalism (CFWIJ) condemns the unfair charges towards Belarusian journalists and demands their immediate release.

A former journalist, Ksenia Lutskina, was detained over accusations of tax evasion. The Coalition For Women In Journalism condemns the detention of journalists in Belarus as an attempt to suppress free speech.A former journalist, Ksenia Lutskina, was detained over accusations of tax evasion. The Coalition For Women In Journalism condemns the detention of journalists in Belarus as an attempt to suppress free speech.

Journalists Katsyaryna Andreyeva and Darya Chultsova are behind bars since November 2020 for live streaming a protest. The Coalition For Women In Journalism condemns the unjustified arrest of journalists on duty.

Alla Sharko, a human rights activist and program director of the Press Club of Belarus was arrested on December 22, 2020, along with her colleagues. Authorities searched the apartments of detainees and their offices at the Press Club. The office equipment including computers, phones, and bank cards was also confiscated.

Journalist Tatsiana Bublikawa, a reporter at BelaPAN - an independent news agency in Belarus was mistreated by the police during a raid at her office in Minsk. The mishandling by the police can be qualified as violent, the trauma of which led Tatsiana to have a panic attack and she ended up in the hospital. However, she along with other journalists in Belarus who are seeking to disseminate information to the public are facing trouble at the hands of the government.

Journalist Tatsiana Bublikawa, of independent news agency BelaPan in Belarus, was mistreated by the police during a raid at her office. The search was conducted in relation to an ongoing investigation into a former employee, Andrei Alexandrov. As a result, Tatsiana suffered from panic and high blood pressure and was later admitted to the hospital. The Coalition for Women in Journalism denounces this deplorable behavior towards journalists in Belarus.

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.