Minsk court revokes media status of Belarusian news outlet ‘TUT.by’

A Minsk court has revoked the media status of the Belarusian online news outlet Tut.by. 

This ruling came in response to a claim filed by the Belarusian Information Ministry. The lawsuit was grounded on warnings issued to the site due to allegedly false information contained in several articles published in August and September concerning the 2020 presidential election in Belarus.

The Information Ministry had previously revoked Tut.by’s media license temporarily — from October 1 to December 30.

The outlet being deprived of its media status will prevent Tut.by journalists from appealing to government bodies for official comments and from taking part in press conferences; it will also prevent them from covering demonstrations. Earlier, Tut.by’s editorial office stated that in the event of the loss of its media license, it will continue to work as a news site.

Tut.by is one of the largest and most visited information sites in Belarus. It began working in 2000, but didn’t receive its media license until 2019.

Since the contested presidential elections in Belarus this August, the authorities have increased pressure on the independent and opposition press. Thus, Nexta, one of the most popular opposition Telegram channels in the country, was declared extremist and its creators were blacklisted for terrorism.