Yahor Martsinovich (private)
Belarus: Criminal defamation case against editor-in-chief of Nasha Niva Yahor Martsinovich must be dropped

Andreas Lamm

25 September 2020

No Comments

25 September 2020

The undersigned organisations call for the Belarusian authorities to drop their criminal defamation lawsuit against editor-in-chief of Nasha Niva, Yahor Martsinovich and to immediately release him from custody.

On 23 September 2020, Yahor Martsinovich was taken to the Investigative Committee after his apartment had been searched by the police. His detention is linked to the Nasha Niva article where one of the interviewees claimed that he had been beaten in a detention centre by the deputy head of the Interior Ministry Alexander Barsukou. The police have started criminal proceedings against Martsinovich under Article 188 of the Criminal Code — defamation. Barsukou is recognised as a victim in the case. Martsinovich is regarded as responsible for the article as the editor-in-chief of Nasha Niva.

We consider that the Belarusian defamation and insult provisions allow the imposition of disproportionate penalties, fail to establish adequate defences and are excessively vague, and hence open to abuse. Public authorities, including police and public officials, should take no part in the initiation or prosecution of criminal defamation cases, regardless of the status of the party claiming to have been defamed, even if he or she is a senior public official. Penalties under this article of the Criminal Code include a fine or correctional labour for up to two years, arrest or restriction of liberty for up to three years.

Since the disputed presidential elections on 9 August 2020, journalists have been detained and intimidated over 200 times. We call on the Belarusian authorities to ensure that attacks against journalists and media workers stop and everyone detained is released without delay, including Yahor Martsinovich, and that the criminal lawsuit against him is dropped immediately.  Moreover, criminal defamation law should be abolished without delay.

Signed by:

Article 19

European Centre for Press and Media Freedom (ECPMF)

European Federation of Journalists (EFJ)

Free Press Unlimited (FPU)

Institute for Applied Informatics at the University of Leipzig (InfAI)

International Press Institute (IPI)

Osservatorio Balcani e Caucaso Transeuropa (OBCT)

Read news by categories:

Related news

Jobs

Advocacy Officer

We are seeking an Advocacy Officer to commence duties as soon as possible. As Advocacy Officer at ECPMF, you will be at the forefront of all advocacy activities, representing ECPMF’s mission in public and political debates.

READ MORE
Press release

Social media is the main source of information for Ukrainian refugees in Germany

On behalf of ECPMF and The JX Fund, The Forsa Institute for Social Research and Statistical Analysis (forsa) has surveyed the media usage of Ukrainian refugees in Germany for the first time.

READ MORE
Statement

Hungary: Draft Sovereignty Protection Act poses fresh threat to independent media

The Media Freedom Rapid Response (MFRR) today alerts the European Union about the chilling impact that the Hungarian ruling party’s proposed Sovereignty Protection Act will have on what remains of the country’s embattled independent media community.

READ MORE
Statement

North Macedonia: Ruling against Investigative Reporting Lab and its editor must be overturned

The organisations of the MFRR and the SafeJournalists Network (SJN) today express shared dismay at a recent defamation verdict by a judge in North Macedonia which recommends shutting down one of the country’s leading investigative media outlets.

READ MORE
Statement

Bosnia and Herzegovina: Republika Srpska president Dodik verbally attacks journalist

The undersigned partner organisations of the Media Freedom Rapid Response (MFRR) today condemn the insulting and threatening behaviour of the President of Republika Srpska, Milorad Dodik, towards journalist Snezana Mitrović and her employer N1 television.

READ MORE
Statement

Italy: MFRR partners condemn summons of RAI presenter Sigfrido Ranucci

As the Turkish Constitutional Court reviews the constitutionality of the "disinformation offence”, the MFRR partner organisations reiterate their call for the annulment of Article 217/A of the Turkish Penal Code.

READ MORE
Tags :