Minister Of Information Of Belarus: Now We Will Go After Freelancers

Aliaksandr Karliukevich named new trends in restriction of freedom of speech in the country.

The Ministry of Information is planning innovations for freelancers. Department head Aliaksandr Karliukevich stated that in an interview to the STV television channel .

"It seems to me that we need to return to the very term "freelancer" and discuss it more thoroughly and introduce certain initiatives. We will thorougly examine the journalistic community's opinions to determine all these positions," - the official said.

By the way, now the work of freelancers in Belarus is not regulated and is not officially recognized.

Also, the Ministry of Information is preparing a resolution of the Council of Ministers, which will be devoted exclusively to the national television content. According to Karliukevich, now both employees of the Ministry of Information and representatives of the journalistic television community are working on this document.

The minister promised that the bill would be prepared in the near future and would be widely discussed.

We remind that on August 7 and 8, BelaPAN and tut.by offices were searched. The Investigative Committee is investigating the criminal case (Article 349) on "illegal access" to the paid content of the state agency BelTA.

On August 7, ten tut.by and BelaPAN journalists and editors were detained: Tatsiana Karavenkava, Andrei Serada, Hanna Kaltyhina, Liudzmila Chekina, Uliyana Bobayed, Maryna Zolatava, Halina Ulasik, Dzmitry Bobryk, Hanna Yarmachonak, Yauheniya Beraziuk. Half of them were released in the evening.

On August 8, the IC detained three journalists of the realt.by portal: Ihar Khmara, Maryja Saroka, Alena Maslouskaya and the editor-in-chief of this site, Uladzislau Kuletski, as well as the editor of the website of the newspaper Belarusians and the Market, Aliaksei Zhukau, and Deutsche Welle correspondent Pauliuk Bykouski.

On August 9, the Investigative Committee detained BelaPAN editor-in-chief Iryna Leushyna. On the same day, tut.by editors Halina Ulasik and Hanna Kaltyhina and BelaPAN columnist Tatsiana Karavenkava were released.

We remind, that Lukashenka's regime blocked the independent information resource Charter97.org on January 24. First Information Deputy Minister Ihar Lutski confirmed the blocking. Aliakandr Karliukevich heads the Ministry of Information.