MINSK, 9 August (BelTA) – The employees of the Dozhd TV channel who were detained in Belarus had no appropriate accreditation, Anatoly Glaz, Head of the Information and Digital Diplomacy Office, Press Secretary of the Belarusian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, told BelTA.
“There are many speculations around this situation and attempts to create a scandal out of nothing. Everything is very simple: the employees of the Dozhd TV channel were working in Belarus without appropriate accreditation. In other words they violated the law,” he said.
They are now held in one of the district internal affairs departments of Minsk, undergoing some legal procedures. Later on decisions will be made on the measure of their responsibility in compliance with the law. “Since they are foreign nationals, mostly likely they will be asked to leave Belarus. We are keeping in touch with Russian colleagues who are keenly interested in the situation with their citizens. There is no biased attitude or differentiated treatment depending on the origin of mass media or by any other criteria. The attitude to all is calm and equal,” Anatoly Glaz said.
He noted that more than 300 journalists from different countries, representing different mass media have been accredited. There are no obstacles to their work. “Yet some think they can ignore the Belarusian laws in the most arrogant way and act as they see fit,” Anatoly Glaz noted.
