Yet again Belarus is among the countries that violate freedom of mass media

Once again Belarus has been included in the number of countries with the “complicated situation” in the sphere of mass media freedom, says the data from the annual World Press Freedom Index.

Just as a year ago, Belarus took 157^th place out of 180. However, the Freedom Index in the country has deteriorated: if back in 2015 it made 47.98, this year it fell to 54.32.

“In a bid to loosen Russia’s sway over Belarus, President Aliaksandr Lukashenka’s regime is trying to ingratiate itself with the international community and erase its image as “Europe’s last dictatorship.” But aside from the release of leading political prisoners, nothing has changed. Freelance journalists cannot get accreditation and are harassed by the judicial authorities. The information ministry has stepped up its control over print media distribution networks and the Internet, and has banned the software used to circumvent online censorship,” – informs the annual report prepared by Reporters without borders.

Among the countries with the best Press Freedom Index are Finland, the Netherlands, Norway, Denmark, New Zealand, Costa Rica, Switzerland, Sweden, Ireland, and Jamaica.

The worst situation with the press freedom is in Yemen, Cuba, Djibouti, Laos, Sudan, Vietnam, China, Syria, Turkmenistan, North Korea, and Eritrea.