Belarus KGB detains journalists, searches for anti-Lukashenko materials News
Belarus KGB detains journalists, searches for anti-Lukashenko materials

[JURIST] The Belarus KGB [official website] Thursday detained at least 16 journalists and searched their homes and offices for materials that allegedly libel Belarus President Alexander Lukashenko [official website; BBC profile]. The Belarus Deputy Prosecutor General said that the searches related to an animated Internet cartoon that allegedly insulted Lukashenko and had been broadcast on Belsat TV [media website], a Polish-funded satellite television channel. The Belarusian Association of Journalists (BAJ) [trade website] argued that the searches were retaliation for media coverage of anti-Lukashenko protests [JURIST report] in Minsk earlier this week. AP has more. BAJ has local coverage.

The US State Department severely criticized Belarus' human rights record [JURIST report] earlier this month. The UN General Assembly Third Committee, as well as the International Helsinki Federation for Human Rights [JURIST reports], have similarly denounced Belarus for human rights abuses. Lukashenko has recently sought to improve his country's ties with western nations, but the US and the European Union have imposed sanctions on Belarus pending the release of all political prisoners, including opposition leader Alexander Kozulin [JURIST report].

THIS DAY @ LAW

UN Security Council called for Israeli withdrawal from territories occupied in Six Days' War

On November 22, 1967, the UN Security Council called for Israeli withdrawal from territories occupied during the Six Days' War, and for respect of the right of all States in the area to "live in peace within secure and recognized boundaries." Read Resolution 242, which remains a cornerstone of efforts to achieve peace in the Middle East.

President Kennedy assassinated, VP Lyndon Johnson sworn inin

On November 22, 1963, President John F. Kennedy was assassinated in Dallas, Texas. Later that day, Vice-President Lyndon Johnson was sworn in as the 36th President of the United States. Earl Warren, the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, was later tasked with leading a commission to investigate the assassination. President Johnson received the final report of the Warren Commission on September 24, 1964. Read the Warren Commission Report.