This was ruled by a court in Brest.
On December 9, the Leninski Rayon district court in Brest recognized Alina Koushyk's account on Instagram as extremist.
The Free Choir's Facebook page, the account of the Podlasie-based Tutaka Foundation on TikTok, and the website of the Belarusian Christian Democracy party have also recently been placed on the list of extremists maintained by the Belarusian Ministry of Information.
According to Belarusian law, reading and viewing extremist content is not prohibited. However, their storage, production, transportation and dissemination are punishable by fines and arrest. Belarusian courts also consider sharing, liking and commenting on the content of extremist social media to be disseminated.
Alina Koushyk became editor-in-chief of Belsat in early December. Before her, the station's acting director was Aliaksiei Dzikavitsky, who replaced Agnieszka Romaszewska-Guzy last spring. Therefore, the Brest court's decision can be seen as a kind of "welcome" of the new head of Belsat to her post.
The content of Belsat as a whole was deemed extremist after the Alyaksandr Lukashenka regime rigged the presidential election in Belarus in August 2020. Since then, more of our TV programs and their social network accounts have been added to the blacklist.
In November 2021, the Belarusian Ministry of Internal Affairs went a step further, declaring our station, along with its employees and social media account subscribers, an extremist group whose membership is punishable by up to seven years in a penal colony. This means that our journalists cannot return to their homeland until the regime collapses, and it is a crime for people living in Belarus to give us information.
Leading an extremist formation is likely the subject of a criminal case in Belarus against Aliaksei Dzikavitsky, as part of which the authorities seized his family home. The new head of Belsat may also expect similar reprisals.
pj/belsat.eu
