Natallia Radzina Urged To Impose Sanctions Against Officials Who Blocked Charter

The lead editor of Charter97.org met with Anna Fotyga, the Chair of the Subcommittee on Security and Defence (SEDE) of the European Parliament.

The meeting of Charter97.org lead editor Natallia Radzina with the Chair of the Subcommittee on Security and Defence of the European Parliament, the member of the Delegation for relations with the NATO Parliamentary Assembly, the former Polish Foreign Minister, Anna Fotyga, was held in Brussels today.

During the meeting, Natallia Radzina spoke about the illegal blocking of the Charter-97 website in Belarus, which lasts from January 24, and noted that this step of the Belarusian authorities endangered not only the freedom of speech, but also the country's independence.

The lead editor cited data showing that there has been a significant increase in the popularity of Russian propaganda resources among Belarusian Internet users after blocking of the popular Belarusian independent site Charter97.org. Today Russia actually controls the entire information space of Belarus, from TV channels to Internet sites.

Natallia Radzina urges the Members of the European Parliament to impose sanctions against the Minister of Information Aliaksandr Karliukevich, the Deputy Information Minister Ihar Lutski (currently holding the post of General Director of the television channel Stolichnoye Televidenie) and the head of the Operational and Analytical Center under the administration of Lukashenka Andrey Pavliuchenka, who are responsible for blocking Charter97.org.

Also, the Charter's lead editor urges to impose sanctions against Lukashenka's High-Tech Park until pressure on independent media in Belarus is stopped.

Anna Fotyga expressed support for the Charter-97 website, noting that she had already taken a number of steps and appealed to the EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Federica Mogherini to do everything possible to unblock the leading independent website in Belarus.

The head of the Committee on Security and Defence of the European Parliament shares the view that the blocking of Charter-97 website undermines information security on the EU's eastern borders and significantly increases the Russian threat.

Anna Fotyga said that she would organize events in the European Parliament to draw attention to the problem of growing influence of Russian propaganda in the Belarusian Internet segment.

The head of the European Parliament's Committee for Security and Defense stated that it was necessary to consider the issue of imposing sanctions against persons responsible for blocking the Charter-97 website.