BELARUS NEWS AND ANALYSIS

DATE:

Heavy fine threatens privately-owned newspaper's survival

Francais: Une amende disproportionnee menace d'asphyxier financierement un bihebdomadaire independant

Country/Topic: Belarus
Date: 15 April 2005
Source: Reporters Without Borders (RSF)
Person(s): Irina Khalip
Target(s): editor(s) , newspaper(s)
Type(s) of violation(s): fined , harassed , legal action
Urgency: Threat

(RSF/IFEX) - A Minsk court has fined Irina Khalip, deputy editor-in-chief of the privately-owned twice-weekly newspaper "Belorusskaya Delovaya Gazeta" ("BDG"), nearly 3,500 euros (approx. US$4,500). The paper itself was fined 17,800 euros (approx. US$22,800) in damages for defamation.

On 11 April 2005, Khalip was brought before the Kastrychnitski District Court to face a defamation complaint filed by a certain Arkady Mar, described as the editor-in-chief of the United States-based newspaper "Russkaya Amerika".

The complainant reportedly interviewed President Alexander Lukashenko on 14 February, promising him about a dozen pages of positive coverage in a future issue.

On 22 February, "BDG" carried a sarcastic article written by Khalip, entitled, "Oklahoma residents won't find out anything about Lukashenko". The article was accompanied by a letter from Oklahoma-based "Russkaya Amerika" editor Valery Tarasov stating that no staff member had interviewed the Belarusian president.

Khalip believes the legal case was orchestrated behind the scenes by Mikalai Charhinets, chairman of the National Assembly's Permanent Committee, and Aleh Pralyaskowski, deputy director for ideology in the Presidential Office.

"These fines inflicted on an editor and her newspaper for comments about a supposed interview with President Lukashenko are utterly disproportionate," said RSF. "Once again, the Belarusian authorities show they will not tolerate dissident voices in the country, by attempting to bankrupt one of the few independent newspapers. The executive should not exploit the Belarusian court system. It is a scandalous travesty of justice, inconceivable in a democratic country."

According to Khalip, Mar's aim was to extract money from the Belarusian authorities in exchange for a promise of a favourable report on the president in a foreign media outlet at a time when the Minsk government is coming under increasing criticism from the international community. Khalip said Lukashenko was the third head of state to be set up in this way.

During the trial, the judge rejected Khalip's request to question the American embassy about Mar's claims of being "Russkaya Amerika"'s editor-in-chief. Mar, who initially claimed US$1 million in damages after the "BDG" article appeared, did not attend the trial.

This is not the first time the Belarusian authorities had tried to crush "BDG". In January 2004, Belpochta, the Belarusian postal service that delivers newspapers to subscribers throughout the country, and the state distributor Belsayuzdruk, cancelled their contracts with the paper for 2004, forcing it to be printed abroad (see IFEX alert of 14 January 2004). On 28 May 2003, the information minister suspended the paper's publication for three months following legal action for the alleged defamation of Lukashenko (see alerts of 26 and 2 June and 30 May 2003).

Source:

http://www.ifex.org/en/content/view/full/66001/