Andrej Bastunets, Deputy Chairman of the Belarusian Association of Journalists, commented on decisions of the Supreme Court of Belarus concerning the appeal of BAJ toward warnings issued by the Ministry of Justice to the organization. "This trial raised a much broader range of issues, but also showed that the Ministry of Justice leaves freelancers absolutely outside of the law", — said the lawyer.
«The Ministry of Justice recognizes as journalists only those with press credentials — either as staff or as a freelance reporter. While the law «On Copyright and Related Rights» refers directly to work of freelancers, who prepare the materials on your own risk and offer them to different editors or broadcasters «, — said Andrej Bastunets, the press service of the BAJ informs.
Appeal to the Supreme Court and hearing on the complaint, according to lawyer, disclosed «a sad fact that the BAJ and the Ministry of Justice exist in the «parallel» legal space».
«In «our» legal space the Constitution exists, which guarantees freedom of speech, freedom of associations, associations of citizens, prohibits interference in a legal assistance, prohibits trial without reference to the law … and the Ministry of Justice looks at all this from a different perspective and considers the charter of a public association as an army’s one, acсording to that every step aside causes the guardhouse. This is a warning — is such a guardhouse «, — said BAJ lawyer.
Belarusian Association of Journalists and the Ministry of Justice live in different time frames, Bastunets.
According to Andrej Bastunets, the court also «found serious discrepancies between representatives of Justice Ministry and Belarusian Association of Journalists in the understanding of the concept of «journalist».»
«There is no concepts of «journalist» in the law «On the Media». There is the term «media reporters». But of course this concept does not cover the entire journalistic community, especially concerning the speed of Internet development», — said deputy chairman of the Belarusian Association of Journalists.
«But what to say about the Internet, if a representative of Ministry of Justice in the court operated by definition of term «journalist», taken from old encyclopedia of Soviet times, and said that only one who received appropriate education and works in the editorial offices can be a journalist? I have an impression that, physically we are in one place but live in different times», — stated Andrej Bastunets.
