chairman | Andrei Bastunets |
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The Belarusian Association of Journalists (BAJ) (Belarusian: Беларуская асацыяцыя журналістаў Biełaruskaja Asacyjacyja Žurnalistaǔ) is a non-governmental organisation of journalists in Belarus.[1] To have freedom of speech and rights of receiving and distributing information are its desire.[2] It was made in 1995.[3] BAJ is a friend of the International Federation of Journalists, the European Federation of Journalists, and Reporters Without Borders. It got the European Parliament's Sakharov Prize in 2004.[4] It got Free Media Award in 2021.[5]
On August 27, 2021, the Association was formally closed by the Supreme Court of Belarus.[6] However, it continued to function outside Belarus.[7][8]
On February 28, 2023, the KGB has designated the Association as an 'extremist formation'; as a result, participation in it can be punished with a prison sentence.[9][10]