Belarus: accreditation withdrawn from 17 journalists working for foreign outlets

Published 2026-09-23. Last reviewed 2026-09-22. 1 source.

Status: in effect, as of 2026-09-22.

What we don't know: The source reviewed does not name all 17 affected journalists or state whether any of them later regained accreditation.

Belarus's government revoked the accreditation of at least 17 journalists working for foreign outlets, including the BBC, Reuters, the Associated Press, Radio Liberty, AFP and Deutsche Welle, as they covered protests after a disputed presidential election.¹²³

Country: Belarus (RSF 2026 rank: 165th of 180)
Where: BY
Level of government: National
Tactic: Access bans
Stage: Punish (see the ladder)
Ladder note: At least 17 journalists working for named international outlets lost accreditation nationwide and some were deported, not confined to one building or pool.
Head of government at the time: Alexander Lukashenko
Issue of the day: The journalists had been covering protests that followed Belarus's August 9, 2020, presidential election, which the opposition and Western governments said was falsified in favor of Alexander Lukashenko.
Outcome: Sustained, August 29, 2020. The accreditation of at least 17 journalists was withdrawn and some were deported the same day, with no reversal reported in the source reviewed.
Era: The 2020s

What happened

On August 29, 2020, Belarusian authorities revoked the accreditation of at least 17 journalists who had been covering the post-election protests for foreign media outlets, among them the BBC, Reuters, the Associated Press, Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, Agence France-Presse and Deutsche Welle. Government spokesman Anatoly Glaz said the accreditation withdrawals followed a recommendation from Belarus's counter-terrorism unit. Some of the affected foreign journalists were deported to Russia the same day. The move came three weeks after Belarus's disputed presidential election, which had drawn large street protests and a heavy police response, and left foreign wire services and broadcasters largely unable to report from inside the country on the unrest as it continued into the autumn.¹²³

The accreditation withdrawals took effect immediately and some journalists were deported; the source reviewed does not report a reversal.¹²³

What reason was given

Government spokesman Anatoly Glaz said "the decision to revoke the media accreditations was made after a recommendation by Belarus's counter-terrorism unit."¹

What changed for reporting

At least 17 journalists working for major international wire services and broadcasters lost their ability to report from inside Belarus, and some were deported the same day.²

Timeline

2020

August 29, 2020

Belarus: accreditation withdrawn from 17 journalists working for foreign outlets

Who acted

Name	Role in this incident	Office at the time
Alexander Lukashenko	other	President of Belarus
Anatoly Glaz	ordered	Spokesman for Belarus's Foreign Ministry

Outlets and journalists

Name	Kind	Relation
Agence France-Presse	outlet	affected
BBC	outlet	affected
Deutsche Welle	outlet	affected
Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty	outlet	affected
Reuters	outlet	affected
The Associated Press	outlet	affected

Sources

Belarus strips journalists working for foreign outlets of accreditationCommittee to Protect Journalists, 2020-08-29, reporting. Source record

Claims cited

Government spokesman Anatoly Glaz attributed the decision to a recommendation from the counter-terrorism unit. the decision to revoke the media accreditations was made after a recommendation by Belarus's counter-terrorism unit Belarus strips journalists working for foreign outlets of accreditation, Committee to Protect Journalists, 2020-08-29. Claim 498, checked 2026-09-22.
Some of the affected foreign journalists were deported to Russia on the day their accreditation was revoked. Some foreign journalists were deported to Russia on the same day Belarus strips journalists working for foreign outlets of accreditation, Committee to Protect Journalists, 2020-08-29. Claim 499, checked 2026-09-22.
At least 17 journalists covering the post-election protests for foreign outlets lost their accreditation. at least 17 journalists who had been covering post-election protests for foreign media outlets Belarus strips journalists working for foreign outlets of accreditation, Committee to Protect Journalists, 2020-08-29. Claim 564, checked 2026-09-22.