Belarus: Staff of popular news site in detention after raids

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Ten employees of a popular news site in Belarus that was raided and blocked by authorities this week remain in detention, the Belarusian Association of Journalists said Wednesday.

Three journalists and seven managers and support staff from Tut.by were held overnight in a Minsk detention center notorious for housing political prisoners in harsh conditions, the association said. None of them has seen a lawyer so far and the legal status of the 10 remained unclear, it said.

Belarusian authorities on Tuesday blocked Tut.by, raided its offices and the homes of several staff members. Officials maintained the news site, arguably the most popular one in Belarus, violated media laws by publishing content on behalf of BYSOL, a foundation that helps victims of political repression but lacks proper state registration.

The authorities also accused Tut.by of tax evasion and launched a criminal probe of the site’s top staff members, who could face charges that carry a maximum penalty of seven years in prison.

Tut.by reported Tuesday in its account on the Telegram messaging app that a dozen staff members were detained after the raids. According to the Belarusian Association of Journalists, four reporters from other outlets also were detained Tuesday after they arrived to Tut.by's offices in Minsk to cover the raid. One of them remained in detention on Wednesday, according to the journalists' association.

“The destruction of Tut.by leaves millions of Belarusians without access to objective news and shows that the authorities are ramping up repressions against journalists that stand up against the state propaganda machine,” Barys Haretski, the association's vice president, said.

President Alexander Lukashenko’ unleashed a harsh crackdown last year after large...