In recent months, large parts of independent journalism in Belarus have been shut down and the work of journalists has been hampered in various ways by Belarusian authorities.
It is now clear that the country's largest journalists' union, the Belarusian Association of Journalists (BAJ) with 1,200 members, has been declared illegal by the government.
This after authorities earlier in July closed down several of the union's premises with accusations that the union had violated the regulations for organizations and committed financial irregularities.
In recent months, Alexander Lukashenko's regime has repeatedly arrested and detained journalists, blocked major news sites and made it illegal for reporters, for example, to cover demonstrations without the formal approval of Belarusian authorities.