16 September marks BAJ’s 26th anniversary
In autumn 1995, 38 Belarusian professionals founded the organization that has protected and promoted the interests of journalists in Belarus for the next quarter of a century.
The Belarusian Association of Journalists is a member of the International and European Federations of Journalists, IFEX, and the Reporters Without Borders network. It holds the Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought and many international awards.
On 27 August 2021, after an unprecedented wave of repressions against journalists, media, and public organizations, Judge of the Supreme Court Inesa Lazavikova satisfied the claim of the Ministry of Justice to liquidate the Belarusian Association of Journalists.
However, BAJ is not just and not so much an entry in the register of legal entities run by the authorities. Today the Belarusian Association of Journalists counts more than 1300 journalists, editors, photographers, lawyers, and other professionals engaged in real journalism.
That is why the BAJ team is not giving up. We are getting ready to appeal the decision of the authorities in a court of supervision and international courts.
And we are still in touch: the best way to contact the BAJ today is via email press@baj.by.
Congratulations, colleagues!
BAJ — 26 years together!