Features & Analysis

Belarus opens criminal cases against more than 60 journalists in exile

Maryia Bulavinskaya is one of hundreds of journalists who went into exile after President Aleksandr Lukashenko intensified his jailing and persecution of the press following 2020 protests calling for his ouster. Increasingly, they face the long arm of the state.

Photo Credit Photo: Courtesy of Maryia Bulavinskaya

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The Committee to Protect Journalists is an independent, nonprofit organization that promotes press freedom worldwide. We defend the right of journalists to report the news safely and without fear of reprisal.

103 Killed in 2024

361 Imprisoned in 2024

67 Missing in 2024

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Slemani News Network camera operator Sivar Baban struggles to breathe after being teargassed during a Kurdistan teachers’ protest on February 9.

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A member of the media wears a placard during an October 4, 2023, demonstration in New Delhi over the arrests of people linked to a news website. In 2024, CPJ provided prison support grants to 58 journalists jailed in connection with their work. (Photo: Arun Sankar/AFP)

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