{
  "iso2": "BY",
  "name": "Belarus",
  "continent": "europe",
  "region": "Eastern Europe",
  "press_freedom": {
    "index": "RSF World Press Freedom Index",
    "rank": 165,
    "year": 2026,
    "of": 180,
    "label": "RSF 2026 rank: 165th of 180",
    "source_url": "https://rsf.org/en/index"
  },
  "counts_caveat": "The number of entries reflects the depth of this record, not the severity of a country's conduct.",
  "incident_count": 1,
  "tactics": [
    {
      "slug": "detention_and_violence",
      "name": "Detention and violence",
      "count": 1,
      "ladder_url": "https://thewaronnews.com/ladders/detention_and_violence"
    },
    {
      "slug": "shutdowns_and_blocking",
      "name": "Shutdowns and blocking",
      "count": 1,
      "ladder_url": "https://thewaronnews.com/ladders/shutdowns_and_blocking"
    }
  ],
  "leaders": [
    {
      "slug": "alexander-lukashenko",
      "name": "Alexander Lukashenko",
      "count": 1,
      "url": "https://thewaronnews.com/leaders/alexander-lukashenko"
    }
  ],
  "incidents_by_year": {
    "2021": [
      {
        "slug": "2021-belarus-blocks-tutby-arrests-staff",
        "title": "Belarus blocks Tut.by and arrests its editors as 'extremist'",
        "occurred_on": "2021-05-19",
        "occurred_on_precision": "day",
        "country": "BY",
        "country_name": "Belarus",
        "continent": "europe",
        "jurisdiction": "BY",
        "level": "national",
        "tactic_primary": "shutdowns_and_blocking",
        "tactics": [
          "detention_and_violence",
          "shutdowns_and_blocking"
        ],
        "leader_slug": "alexander-lukashenko",
        "leader_name": "Alexander Lukashenko",
        "issue_of_the_day": "Tut.by had continued reporting on the government's response to protests following the disputed August 2020 presidential election that kept Alexander Lukashenko in power; authorities revoked the outlet's official media registration in January 2021.",
        "outcome": "sustained",
        "outcome_on": null,
        "outcome_note": "Tut.by remained blocked and its former staff continued reporting from exile as Zerkalo; the criminal proceedings against staff continued.",
        "stage": "silence",
        "ladder_note": null,
        "rsf": {
          "index": "RSF World Press Freedom Index",
          "year": 2026,
          "rank": 165,
          "of": 180,
          "label": "RSF 2026 rank: 165th of 180",
          "source_url": "https://rsf.org/en/index"
        },
        "era": "2020s",
        "granularity": "granular",
        "status": "in_effect",
        "case_count": 0,
        "summary": "Belarusian authorities blocked access to Tut.by, the country's most-read independent news site, searched its offices in three cities and arrested at least eleven staff, including its editor-in-chief, citing alleged media-law violations after the site had already lost its official media status.",
        "url": "https://thewaronnews.com/incidents/2021-belarus-blocks-tutby-arrests-staff"
      }
    ]
  },
  "downloads": {
    "csv": "https://thewaronnews.com/countries/by?format=csv",
    "json": "https://thewaronnews.com/countries/by.json",
    "md": "https://thewaronnews.com/countries/by.md"
  },
  "license": {
    "name": "CC BY 4.0",
    "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/"
  }
}