The extent of the widespread press crackdown in Minsk is still being measured, but I’ve been reading reports from within Belarus that spell out the drastic Internet side of the restrictions, writes Danny O’Brien, CPJ’s San Francisco-based Internet advocacy coordinator.
Hal Roberts at Berkman has more details. As the Charter ’97 English Twitter feed notes, when your electricity is cut off and editors are being detained, such subtle technical censorship is somewhat of a side-note for journalists working within the country. But during key events, when reporters and eye-witnesses are working with foreign news media, such blocking can seriously hamper the ability to gather information and describe what is happening to the world at large.
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