MINSK, 30 November (BelTA) – The sanctions of the European Union against journalists are illegal from the point of view of European law and legal practice, Chairman of the Board of the Belarusian Union of Journalists Andrei Krivosheyev said in the Editors' Club program on the Belarus 1 TV channel, BelTA has learned.
The participants of the program noted that the EU is currently considering the expansion of sanctions against Belarus. Personal restrictions may also apply to Belarusian journalists working in state-owned media. In total, 100-300 people working in various spheres can be included in the new sanctions list.
“Sanctions against journalists, whatever they are called, are illegal from the point of view of European law and practice. Belarusian journalists proved it in 2011-2012. There are at least two decisions of the European Court of Human Rights regarding our colleague. They say in black and white that the use of sanctions against journalists is illegal. They urge the European Union, the European Council and individual national governments to cancel such decisions,” Andrei Krivosheyev noted.
Political scientist Aleksandr Shpakovsky, in turn, noted that the term ‘double standards' has long been present in international relations. “People say about this kind of people that there are none so blind as those who will not see. Therefore, no matter what we are discussing here, no matter what video evidence and rational arguments are presented, they will still say that this is not true. We live in parallel worlds that will probably not converge,” the expert emphasized.
