Belarus Declares Deutsche Welle an Extremist Organization and Bans Its Activities

(Patria) - Belarusian authorities yesterday declared the local service of the German state media Deutsche Welle an extremist organization and banned its activities in the country.

Following such a decision, anyone who produces content for the Belarusian service of Deutsche Welle could face a seven-year prison sentence.

And anyone who reads and republishes articles from Deutsche Welle could be found guilty of a misdemeanor or a criminal offense.

DW Director General Peter Limbourg criticized the decision, stating that the accusations against the media outlet are unfounded and do not reflect the true nature of the work of the Belarusian service.

Belarusian authorities have already declared 199 organizations extremist and use that label to suppress criticism in the country.

The list includes the Belarusian service of Radio Free Europe and the independent Belarusian television Belsat, which broadcasts in Belarusian from the Polish capital Warsaw.

- The situation with freedom of speech in Belarus is the worst in Europe - said Andrei Bastunec, head of the Belarusian Association of Journalists, adding that Belarus is like a "European North Korea."

Belarus was hit by mass protests in 2020 after elections in which authoritarian President Alexander Lukashenko declared he had won a sixth term. The elections were deemed rigged by the West and the opposition.

The authorities then arrested more than 35,000 people, and some of them were brutally beaten, according to estimates by human rights organizations.

Many prominent opposition figures were arrested and sentenced to long prison terms, while others fled abroad.

The Belarusian service of Deutsche Welle is based in Bonn and is funded by the German government.

According to data from the Belarusian Association of Journalists, there are currently 36 journalists in prison in Belarus.