Charges and fines brought against a journalist for not having State accreditation as foreign media

Facts

The author of the communication is a national of Belarus and a freelance journalist. The author has carried out interviews on various topics in Belarus, and posted recordings thereof on different foreign websites. At each occasion, he was found guilty by domestic courts for unlawful production and distribution of mass media products, and for acting as a journalist of a foreign mass media in the territory of Belarus without being accredited by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, as required by the law of the State party. Various fines were imposed on the author, and his appeals to regional courts were unsuccessful. The author claims that the State party has violated his rights under article 14 of the Covenant, on the right to fair trial and equality before the courts, and his right to freedom of expression under article 19 (2) of the Covenant.

Admissibility

The Committee considered that the author’s claims under article  19 (2) of the Covenant were admissible. However, the Committee considered that the author’s allegations under article 14 of the Covenant were of a general nature, and were therefore inadmissible due to insufficient substantiation under article 2 of the Optional Protocol.

Merits

The Committee considered that, by sanctioning the author for posting media materials on foreign websites without being accredited in Belarus as a foreign journalist, the State party violated his rights under article  19 (2) of the Covenant. The Committee had found a violation of article 19 (2) of the Covenant in similar cases, involving the same laws and practices of the State party in earlier communications, and nothing led the Committee to a different conclusion on admissibility and merits here.

Recommendations

The State party should, inter alia:

• (a) make full reparation to individuals whose Covenant rights have been violated;
• (b) take appropriate steps to reimburse the current value of the fines and any legal costs incurred by the author in relation to the numerous domestic proceedings against him; and
• (c) take all steps necessary to prevent similar violations from occurring in the future.
• (d) revise its normative framework, particularly its Law on Mass Media, consistent with its obligation under article 2 (2) of the Covenant, and with a view to ensuring that the rights under article 19 may be fully enjoyed in the State party.

Implementation

Deadline for implementation: 17 January 2025