Ranak newspaper editor and her colleague detained in criminal case
Andrei Lipski, a former employee of the Ranak media company based in Svetlahorsk, reported on his Facebook page a recent uptick in questioning and detainment of his former colleagues.
Yulia Dauletava, the editor of the Ranak media company, was detained and taken to a temporary detention facility in Zhlobin. She was last detained on 3 August 2023. Back then she was accused of allegedly insulting a police officer online. The editor was forced to apologize on camera at the police station and released that same day.
Human rights activists claim that the journalist is currently in detention in a criminal case of promoting extremist activity. The same article could be used to charge correspondent Ludmila Andenka, who has also been at Zhlobin TDC since yesterday.
Ranak director Alena Shcherbina is out of reach at the moment.
Ihar Kashlikau, a business owner, started a TV and radio company named Ranak in Svetlahorsk two decades ago. Eventually, a private organization named Ranak-Reklama was additionally established. The company was involved in advertising, printing, and media work. The agency became a major source of information in the region. The company believes that 100,000 people in the local area watch and listen to its TV and radio shows. Local council members visited the company’s media center to learn how it informs people through TV and radio.
The company’s founder and owner, Ihar Kashlikau, left Belarus in 2021 due to claims made by the tax service. The editor-in-chief, Vadzim Vezhnavets, was entrusted with the responsibilities of the managing director.
On 9 June 2023, the police arrested nine staff members of Ranak Media and Ranak-Reklama. These companies made TV and radio news, published the Ranak-Plus newspaper, and handled advertising.
Following arrests and fines, the TV and radio company shut down. After the employees were arrested, the Ministry of Information blocked the media outlet’s website. On 4 July 2023, the Homel Chyhunachny District Court labeled the website and social media pages of the TV channel as “extremist materials”.
On 5 September 2023, the Ministry of Internal Affairs declared the TV channel Ranak an “extremist formation”.
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