26 September 2001
Brestsky Kuryer receives warning for carrying statement on behalf of unregistered organizations

 The State Committee on the Press has issued an official warning to the Brest-based private weekly Brestsky Kuryer. The committee believes that the publication violated the media law by carrying a statement on behalf of a number of non-governmental organizations under the heading "Stop Baiting Democratic Presidential Candidates!" Two of the
organizations were the regional branches of the Belarusian Social Democratic Party and the United Civic Party, which were not registered with the justice department of the Brest Regional Executive Committee.
Article 5 of the media law prohibits the use of the media for spreading information on behalf of political parties, trade unions and other non-governmental organizations that have not obtained state registration according to the established procedure.
As a Brestsky Kuryer representative told BelaPAN, the publication will not contest the warning because it does not threaten the paper with closure. Under Belarusian legislature, the State Press Committee has the right to initiate court proceedings for closing a publication if the
publication receives two warnings within a calendar year. Brestsky Kuryer received a warning on similar grounds at the beginning of the year but achieved its annulment in court.