🔶 Belarus prosecuted four German journalists.
The judicial authorities in Belarus prosecuted four German journalists. Olga Kapustina, Alexandra Bogoslavskaya, Ulyana Babaid and Katsiarina Kryzhanovskaya work for the Belarusian part of Deutsche Welle.
Russia also prosecuted all four men.
Deutschhall is the international media of the German government and publishes programs and news in dozens of languages, including Persian. Its Belarusian part has been under pressure from Lukashenko's government for years.
In April 2024, the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Belarus declared the Belarusian branch of Deutsche Welle an "extremist organization". Following this decision, all Douchihole content is banned from being published in this country. Belarusian authorities accuse Deutsche Hula's plans of threatening national sovereignty and public security, as well as defaming government officials.
The CEO of Deutsche Welle, Barbara Massing, strongly condemned this action and said: "This is an attempt to criminalize independent journalism and intimidate journalists." Massing emphasized that Deutsche Holla stands by its employees and does not allow them to be intimidated.