Bastunets: Blocking Belarusian Partisan Is Violation Of Freedom Of Expression

The Ministry of Information has no right to make an extrajudicial decision on blocking sites.

The independent information portal Belarusian Partisan has been blocked in Belarus. The decision to restrict access to the site was made in connection with the "systematic violation of the legislation on the media," – the Ministry of Information of Belarus informed on Friday, December 15.

The head of the Belarusian Association of Journalists (BAJ), Andrei Bastunets, commenting on the blockage in an interview to Deutsche Welle, noted that the Belarusian legislation "contains a long laundry list of information that can be banned".

"In these circumstances, the ability of the Ministry of Information to determine independently, which information violates the law, and to make an extrajudicial decision on blocking sites violates the freedom of expression," – Bastunets concluded.

The Belarusian Partisan website was created by Belarusian independent journalists in 2005.