Since the controversial reelection of Alexander Lukashenko as head of state in August 2020, the authorities have subjected Belarusian media to an unprecedented level of repression, exemplified by the treatment of the country’s most popular news website, Tut.by, which had its media status withdrawn and was blocked, raided, targeted by criminal prosecutions, labelled as “extremist” and then banned. Most of the country’s independent media outlets have suffered similar fates. Some continue to publish from abroad. Only the state broadcaster BTRC continues to operate normally, pumping out the regime’s propaganda.

To silence independent journalists, the authorities have resorted to state-sponsored terrorism, including censorship, violence, mass arrests, and coordinated raids on homes and media offices, and have disbanded the Association of Belarusian Journalists (BAJ). They even resorted to hijacking a passenger jet in May 2021 in order to arrest opposition journalist Raman Pratasevich and force him to make a “confession” on public television.

The Belarusian authorities have changed laws to give a legal veneer to attacks on press freedom. The justice system, under complete government control, has begun equating independent journalism with “extremism”, which is punishable by up to seven years in prison. Most independent media outlets and the BAJ have been officially declared “extremist”.

The vast majority of Belarusian independent media outlets are now either operating from outside the county or have been forced to cease publishing. They are now mainly financed by external subsidies. Before 2020, they also benefited from advertising revenue.

Belarus is one of the world’s biggest jailers of journalists, and it is notable for having a high number of women media professionals behind bars. They include Lyudmila Chekina, general director of the country’s leading independent media outlet, Tut.by. This readiness to jail women marks the end of the traditional patriarchal worldview held by the authorities, who were surprised by the prominent role of women in the post-election protests.

According to the BAJ, between 500 and 600 journalists have been forced into exile, and most of those who have stayed back work clandestinely. Targeted by the police, they are arrested, searched, sometimes assaulted, and mistreated in prison. This systematic harassment leaves deep psychological scars.