The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) today protested against Ministry of Justice threats of legal action against the Belarus Association of Journalists (BAJ) for issuing press cards to its members and for engaging in activities beyond the scope of their statutes.

"To charge a journalists' association with illegally issuing press cards is a sign that the government of Belarus is so anti independent media that it has lost all sense of proportion and reality," said Aidan White, IFJ General Secretary. "It uses every bureaucratic trick in the trade to squeeze the life out of independent journalism. It opens itself up to ridicule across Europe."

Last week the BAJ received a letter from the Ministry of Justice accusing it of being in breach of the media law for issuing press cards when it is registered as an NGO and not a media organisation. It further claims that the Legal Centre for Media Protection, a department that provides essential legal defence to journalists, acts beyond the statues of the organisation.

BAJ denies any wrong doing claiming that they cannot be in breach of a media law that does not govern the activities of NGOs. Andrei Bastunets, Deputy Chairperson of BAJ, described the warning of the Ministry of Justice as "strange."

The BAJ, an affiliate of the IFJ that boasts over 1200 members, has been the country's leading voice for press freedom and independent journalism since its establishment in 1995. In 2004 it received the European Parliament's Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought and regularly addresses governments and European institutions in its efforts to raise awareness about the lack of press freedom in Belarus. In September it hosted an international mission to Belarus to review the status of the media which was received by the then Minister of Information. The mission found that despite the thin veneer of symbolic reforms in 2009, little could conceal the fact that Belarus continues to operate a highly repressive media environment.

"It appears that BAJ are being targeted for punishment for their courage, leadership and determination to fight for their members'  rights," added Marc Gruber, European Co-Director. "It is not for government to decide who can be a journalist and who can carry a press card. The only thing that our colleagues are guilty of is representing journalists."

More details on the BAJ web site: http://baj.by/m-p-viewpub-tid-1-pid-7889.html

For more information contact the IFJ at   +32 2 235 2215       

The IFJ represents over 600,000 journalists in 125 countries worldwide