Yevgeny Zhovtis: I Admire People Who Struggle With Dictatorship

• 22.02.2018, 16:27

Every site that opposes Russian propaganda is worth its weight in gold.

Well-known human rights activist from Kazakhstan Yevgeny Zhovtis stated that, commenting on the blocking of the Сharter97.org site:

– As soon as I live in a state with a similar regime, I am familiar with the situation with the blocking of sites that provide alternative information. This is absolutely predictable, given the nature of authoritarian regimes. Lukashenka and Nazarbayev are similar about it. A dictatorship treats any independent information as a threat. Independent media have to go into social networks and continue to struggle there.

This is a significant blow for Belarus, in which there are very few independent media outlets. After the Ukrainian events in which Russia showed its real face, every source of information opposing Putin's propaganda is worth its weight in gold. Unfortunately, the Belarusian authorities restricted their citizens in access to this information.

I understand perfectly well what censorship and struggle with independent media are. I admire people who continue to fight for freedom of information and fight against the dictatorship.