DW CEO Peter Limbourg has accused Belarus of using “tricks” to crack down on dissent.
Limbourg denounced the decision, which categorizes all DW products, including its logo, as extremist. “The blocking of our websites in Belarus in October 2021 was already an unbelievable violation of press freedom. The recent announcement of the criminalization of the DW logo shows how nervous the regime is,” he said in a statement.
He continued: “DW continues to inform many people in Belarus through tools to circumvent censors. Especially after the attack in Ukraine, the numbers have increased significantly. Now they want to use cheap tricks to create false-legitimate reasons to take action against people exercising their right to freedom of expression. “
“Extremist products” by DW
On March 9, Belarus’s Ministry of the Interior issued a statement saying: information products of the Telegram channel and the conversation of DW Belarus as extremist material “.
It also makes it clear that Deutsche Welle’s entire media and information network, as well as its two-letter D and W logo, are now considered extremist in Belarus.
DW is not the first media outlet to receive this ranking. So far, most of Belarus’s independent media outlets are considered “extremist”, including Zerkalo.io, Euroradio, Radio Liberty and the newspaper Nassa Niva. DW’s website has been blocked in Belarus since October 2021. Belarusian authorities warn that fines and up to 15 days in prison for storing or distributing “extremist material” could be imposed.
Subscription to the Telegram channel is not in itself explicitly described as dissemination. However, there are people who have already received heavy fines simply for subscribing to “extremist channels” in Belarus.
Add Comment