The Ministry of Information of Belarus has designated Euronews’ website as “extremist” media, adding it to its “Republican List of Extremist Materials” following a national court order, according to Belarus-based media outlets.
The Euronews website will now be restricted in Belarus, and readers could face administrative penalties for "storing or distributing" its pan-European content, after many years in which Euronews has been the main European source of information in the country, according to Euronews’ audience data in Belarus.
The state decision was taken by the Horki District Court in the Mogilev Region on 4 August and is "subject to immediate execution in accordance with Article 302 of the Code of Civil Procedure of the Republic of Belarus." Minsk now joins Moscow in banning both Euronews’ television and digital news medias, depriving Belarus audiences of a vital source of factual and independent journalism.
Euronews’ Editorial Director Claus Strunz condemned the decision declaring that a state that brands Euronews as “extremist” and blocks access to independent, impartial journalism reveals its own fear of free reporting.”
“We have not been informed of this decision and await the authorities’ justification. Our commitment remains unchanged: we stand with our audiences in Belarus and will continue to provide factual, independent journalism guided by our core editorial values,“ Strunz said.
