• Urgent Action

Urgent Action: Journalist May Lose Son After Covering Protests (Belarus: UA 81.17)

April 6, 2017

The Belarusian authorities are threatening to take journalist Larysa Schiryakova’s 10 year old son away from her. This threat follows her critical reporting of events in the country including the ongoing crackdown against peaceful protesters.

 
The Belarusian authorities are threatening to take journalist Larysa Schiryakova’s 10 year old son away from her. This threat follows her critical reporting of events in the country including the ongoing crackdown against peaceful protesters. 
 
1) TAKE ACTION
Write a letter, send an email, call, fax or tweet:
  • Urging the authorities to immediately end the harassment of Larysa Schiryakova, including by threatening to remove her son from her care and place him a children’s institution;
  • Reminding the authorities about their obligations to uphold the right to freedom of expression for all Belarusians, and that a free and independent media is an essential component of this right;
  • Calling on the authorities to stop detaining, harassing and placing arbitrary restrictions on journalists in Belarus.
Contact these two officials by 18 May, 2017:
Ministry of Internal Affairs
Ihar Anatolyevich Shunevich
Vul. Haradsky val 4
220030, Minsk, Belarus
Fax: +375 17 203 99 18
Salutation: Dear Minister
 
Chargé d´Affaires Mr. Pavel Shidlovsky
Embassy of Belarus
1619 New Hampshire Ave NW, Washington DC 20009
Fax: 1 202 986 1805  I  Phone: 1 202 986 1606 -OR- 1 202 986 9420
Salutation: Dear Mr. Shidlovsky
 
2) LET US KNOW YOU TOOK ACTION 
Click here to let us know if you took action on this case! This is Urgent Action 81.17 
Here's why it is so important to report your actions: we record the actions taken on each case—letters, emails, calls and tweets—and use that information in our advocacy.
 
ADDITIONAL RESOURCES
 
LEARN MORE ABOUT THIS CASE: Read and download the full Urgent Action below
GET INSPIRED: Read about the people you have helped
READ TIPS for writing effective letters and emails
CONTACT US: [email protected]