December 14, 2009
Alexander Lukashenko
President
Republic of Belarus
Fax: +375 17 222 30 20
press@president.gov.by
Dear President Lukashenko:
We are writing on behalf of the International Women’s Media Foundation to express our alarm concerning distinguished Belarusian journalist Iryna Khalip, who has received alarming new threats.
Khalip, who won an IWMF Courage in Journalism Award in 2009, received an e-mail warning on November 22 that she “will meet with Anna Politkovskaya,” the murdered Novaya Gazeta reporter and 2002 Courage Award winner.
Threats surfaced while Khalip was working on a complicated investigation into the case of Emmanuel Zeltser, an American lawyer who spent 18 months in a Belarusian jail before being released after the intervention of the American Embassy in Belarus. Khalip began receiving threats after submitting the article to her editors but before publication.
On November 25, an anonymous caller said to her, “You have been warned, bitch, haven’t you? If the article is published, you must not leave your house anymore.”
On November 26, she received a telegram from Moscow with clear references to her phone conversations of the prior few days, signaling that she was being closely watched.
Given the history of threats and harassment that that this brave journalist has endured over the years, we take these incidents very seriously. We urge you and Belarusian authorities to investigate and protect Khalip so that she can continue her work as a journalist. We are concerned that the threats against Khalip signal more restrictions on free expression and press freedom in Belarus. All viewpoints should be allowed to be expressed in the media without force or coercion and journalists should be protected in the course of their work by authorities.
As a network of thousands of women and men in the media around the world who are supporters of a worldwide free press, we respectfully urge you to take immediate action to ensure that Khalip is allowed to safely carry out her work. By using your power to ensure that justice is done in this case, you will take a step toward establishing a free and independent press in Belarus.
Thank you for your attention.
Sincerely,
Akwe Amosu, co-chair
Campbell Brown, co-chair
CC: Hillary Rodham Clinton, Secretary, U.S. Department of State, 2201 C Street, NW, Washington, DC
20500
Melanne Verveer, Ambassador-at-Large, Global Women’s Issues, U.S. Department of State, 2201 C Street, NW,
Washington, D.C. 20500