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Newspaper Nasha Niva hit by two warnings from information ministry

The private newspaper Nasha Niva has been slapped with two written warnings from the information ministry over two pieces related to a Russian television channel's scandalous documentary dealing with Alyaksandr Lukashenka's political rule and private life.

The first warning was issued on July 22 over Nasha Niva's article that accused the authorities of confiscating the Belarusian-language paper's issue that featured a story about “Kryostny Batska” (The Godbatska), a documentary aired by Russia's NTV that was censored from the channel's version broadcast in Belarus.

The article claimed that the July 7 issue had not been available at newsstands despite being printed. The ministry, in its warning, said that the edition had reached Belsayuzdruk newsstands and stores and the paper's accusation was false.

The second warning was issued on July 26 over the heading of the paper's article about an event held by members of the pro-government Belarusian National Youth Union to protest the broadcast of the documentary. The headline said, "BNYU advertises 'Godbatska' with help of garbage."

The ministry explained that the headline damaged the reputation of the government-funded youth organization, saying that the event had not been meant to advertise the film.

In an interview with BelaPAN, Nasha Niva Editor-in-chief Andrey Skurko said that the warnings "deny the journalist the use of figurative language in headlines." The journalist said that the paper would appeal the warnings in court.