Belarus declares Polish-funded Belsat TV an ‘extremist formation’
The Belarusian Interior Ministry has declared the Polish-funded television channel Belsat an “extremist formation” and banned its activities in Belarus.
“By the decision of the Interior Ministry, groups of citizens united by means of ‘Belsat’ Internet resources, were recognized as an extremist formation and [their] activities were banned on the territory of the Republic of Belarus,” the ministry said in a statement on Wednesday, November 3.
In July, a Gomel court declared Belsat’s website and social media content “extremist materials,” meaning their subscribers could face administrative liability. Now that the television channel has been declared an “extremist formation,” its founders, leaders, and subscribers can face up to seven years in prison.
Launched in 2007, Belsat is a Warsaw-based satellite television channel aimed at Belarus, which broadcasts in Russian and Belarusian. It’s a subsidiary of Polish Public Television and relies on funding from the Polish Ministry of Foreign Affairs and international donors.
In February 2021, a Minsk court sentenced Belsat journalists Darya Chultsova and Katsyaryna Andreyeva to two years in prison. They were convicted of “organizing protests” for reporting on a rally via a live stream broadcast. In November 2021, Andreyeva and Chultsova received a Free Media Award “for their intrepid live coverage of the protests against Lukashenko’s regime.”