Journalists For Belarus

An open letter from journalists worldwide in support of media colleagues in Belarus who report on the protests:

We, journalists and editors around the world, wish to express our support for fellow journalists in Belarus who are faithfully and independently reporting on the demonstrations by thousands of people in favor of democracy in the country, and on the right of the people to freedom of expression.

We support all journalists in Belarus who abide by the International principles of journalism and objective reporting, and we respectfully ask those working for state-owned media to faithfully cover the protests. We also recognise the heroic efforts of journalists to date, in strikes and protests in the course of their work.

The right of every citizen to quality information is a fundamental right.

States must guarantee free access to public information and data. All journalists sign up to these principles when they become journalists.

This is a pivotal moment in the history of Belarus. There may be risks to you personally from the current situation, and we recognize how hard it may be to do your jobs. And no journalist should be harassed, threatened, censored, jailed, or murdered because of their profession.

But journalism only makes sense if it serves the citizen.

The people of Belarus will owe you a tremendous debt of gratitude as you do your job faithfully and professionally.

Now, more than ever, your public service is important.

Therefore, we the undersigned, wish to support you and show solidarity as you protect and strengthen media freedom and independent journalism in Belarus by reporting on the current protests sweeping the country. As colleagues, we wholeheartedly support you in these efforts.

Signatories include:

• Ricardo Gutierrez, General Secretary of The European Federation of Journalists (EFJ)

• Oliver Milman, Journalist, The Guardian

• Iain Overton, Journalist & the first managing editor of the Bureau of Investigative Journalism

• Alex Matthews, Journalist, Deutsche Welle

• Nina Schick, Journalist & Author of “Deep Fakes: The coming Infocalypse”

(To sign this letter please add yourself via this form, with a link to your twitter handle, job title and, if possible, media outlet)

You can support the pro-democracy movements via these sites:
• Belarus Solidarity Foundation

• Support the victims of protests

Follow @journalists4bel and #journalistsforbelarus on Twitter.

Signed:

Ian Betteridge, Technology journalist
Mike Butcher, Editor-at-large,TechCrunch