The relevant statement was made by the executive group of the Media Freedom Coalition, which includes Canada, Germany, Latvia, the United States, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom. It condemns the constant attacks on journalists and other harassment of freedom of speech in Belarus, Ukrinform reports.
“The undersigned members of the Media Freedom Coalition’s Executive Group express their concern about continued attacks on media freedom surrounding the August 9, 2020, presidential election in Belarus. Media freedom is an important part of democratic societies and essential to the protection of human rights and fundamental freedoms,” the statement reads.
Representatives of six countries are concerned about “reliable information that the Belarusian authorities have harassed, severely beaten, detained and revoked the accreditation of journalists and other media workers covering the election campaign and ongoing protests.”
The statement also draws attention to the continued use of Internet shutdowns.
In view of the above, the Belarusian authorities call on “to guarantee media freedom, refrain from Internet shutdowns and respect international human rights law.”
Read also: Poland, Lithuania and Romania offer aid package for Belarus.
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