Belarusian journalist Mrs Iryna Khalip has received death threats following the publication in the Russian independent newspaper 'Novaya gazeta' of her investigation of the involvement of the Belarusian authorities in an ongoing inheritance case.

Further Information

Iryna Khalip writes on civil and human rights abuses in Belarus, and is a well-known journalist who fights for the freedom of speech in Belarus. Because of her coverage of political and social events in the country, she has been persecuted, arrested numerous times, subjected to interrogations and been beaten by police. In 2009 Iryna Khalip won an International Women's Media Foundation 'Courage in Journalism' Award. She was nominated in 2005 by Time Magazine as a “Hero of Europe” as part of a “Brave Heart” nomination.

On 23 November 2009, after Iryna Khalip sent the article to 'Novaya gazeta', she received a text message which stated, 'If you dont remove your article, you will meet Anna Politkovskaya'. Anna Politkovskaya was a human rights defender and journalist with Novaya gazeta who was killed in 2006. On 25 November, Iryna Khalip received an anonymous call in which she was told, 'If the article is published you should stop going out of your home'. On the evening of 26 November, Iryna Khalip received a telegram with threats mentioning personal information which she and her husband had discussed on the phone. Front Line believes that there is a serious risk that Iryna Khalip's personal correspondence has been tapped in addition to her personal telephone, because only the editors of the Novaya gazeta knew about her work on the investigation. It is believed that this may indicate the involvement of Belarusian secret services in the surveillance of Iryna Khalip due to the private nature of the information being monitored.

Iryna Khalip has recently been working on a story implicating the Belarusian authorities, concerning the disputed inheritance of Georgian billionaire Mr Badri Patarkatsishvili who died in London in February 2008. The case reportedly involves the Russian oligarch in exile in London, Mr Boris Beresovsky as well as the Belarusian authorities' interests. In particular, US citizen Mr Emmanuel Zeltser, the lawyer of Mr Joseph Kay, a relative of Patarkatsishvili who claims to be the billionaire's heir, was reportedly forced to come to Minsk in March 2008, where he was arrested, found guilty of the use of false documents, and condemned to three years in prison. Mr Zeltser has not admitted any guilt, but he spent a year and a half in a KGB prison in Minsk in what was reported to be bad conditions. He was pardoned by the Belarusian president Aliaksandr Lukashenka during a visit by an American delegation to Minsk in July 2009.

Front Line believes that the threats agaisnt Iryna Khalip are directly related to her her legitimate and peaceful work as a journalist in the defence of human rights, particularly freedom of speech. Front Line is seriously concerned for the physical and psychological integrity of Iryna Khalip.

Front Line urges the Belarusian authorities to:

1. Carry out an immediate, thorough and impartial investigation into the threats Iryna Khalip has received, with a view to publishing the results and bringing those responsible to justice in accordance with international standards;

2. Take all necessary measures to guarantee the security and physical and psychological integrity of Iryna Khalip and members of her family;

3. Ensure freedom of expression and association for all human rights defenders and journalists in Belarus.