The Danish Union of Journalists is deeply concerned with the trial currently being held against Aleksandr Sdvizhkov which constitutes a serious attack on the freedom of the press. Mr. Sdizhkov has been put on trial for publishing 8 of the 12 Danish Mohammad cartoons in 2006 when he was the editor in chief of the independent newspaper Zgoda.
The Mohammad cartoons in the Danish newspaper
Aleksandr Sdvizhkov published the cartoons in an undisputable editorial context as Zgoda was describing the events following the publication of the cartoons in
The Danish Union of Journalists strongly opposes this attempt to limit the freedom of speech, recently exemplified by the arrest of Aleksandr Sdvizhkov when he in December returned to Minsk after a prolonged stay in Moscow.
Furthermore we condemn the closure of Zgoda by the authorities in March 2006 only three days before the presidential elections.
The Danish Union of Journalists would like to express its full support to the independent Belarusian Association of Journalists BAJ, which endeavors to secure the acquittal of Aleksandr Sdvizhkov.
Mogens Blicher Bjerregård
President
Danish Union of Journalists