Monitoring Desk: The National Union of Journalists of Ukraine NUJU) has expressed solidarity with Ukrainian journalist Mstislav Chernov who was beaten by Belarusian security forces during the dispersal of protest demonstrations in Minsk on the night of August 10.
Mstislav Chernov works for Associated Press News Agency.
According to the latest information from Minsk, Mstislav is out of the hospital and has no broken bones or other serious injuries. He is not in police custody.
At least 15 journalists, according to the independent Belarusian Association of Journalists, were detained by law enforcement officers on Sunday, on the day of the presidential election in Belarus. The detention took place in Minsk, Vitebsk, Mogilev and Grodno.
“The National Union of Journalists of Ukraine (NUJU) expresses solidarity with Mstislav Chernov and dozens of Belarusian journalists who, despite the risks, perform their professional duty and inform about the progress of the situation in Belarus. We encourage the authorities of Belarus not to apply power to media workers and not to persecute colleagues for journalistic activities.
We count on the operational response of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine in the protection of the rights of Ukrainian journalists who are in Belarus.
We express solidarity with the independent Belarusian Association of Journalists (BAJ),” mentioned the condemnation Statement issued by NSJU.
