Lukashenka fired Pralaskouski

Aleh Pralaskouski has been dismissed from the position of Belarus’ Information Minister.

By Lukashenka’s decree the Minister of Information Aleh Pralaskouski has been dismissed from his position, the press-service of the Belarusian ruler reports.

We would remind that Pralaskouski was appointed the Information Minister of the Republic of Belarus on 4 December 2009. The same year the new tough law on media came into force in the country, which change the procedure for founding, registering with the state, re-registering of media and the dissemination of their products. The adoption of the law caused broad public resonance. Representatives of independent Belarusian media took it as toughening the regulations on media, while international organizations urged the government to put the law in line with international standards.

Journalists felt the new law in action precisely while Pralaskouski was the Minister of Information. Criminal and administrative charges were brought against journalists. Many independent journalists ended up behind bars for doing their job. In 2011 the Ministry of Information initiated the process of shutting down the Nasha Niva and Narodnaja Vola newspapers.