In a renewed crackdown on news media, Belarusian authorities revoked the accreditation of foreign media journalists on Saturday, October 3. According to reports, all foreign media journalists must re-apply from their credentials following the order and the process is likely to take up to a week if not more. Belarus has been rocked by mass anti-governmental protests since August with its president, Alexander Lukashenko, trying to curb dissent.

Read: UK And Canada Announce Sanctions On Belarus Leader Over ‘rigged’ Election

Belarus authorities trying to silence dissent

Belarus protests began with the August 9 election result dispute after officials announced 80% votes in the authoritarian leader’s favour. The results of the elections were challenged by opposition leaders with mass protests mushrooming soon. In the past 8 weeks, several other nations have also come out to state that they do not recognise the presidential election as legitimate and have subsequently imposed sanctions against Belarus.

As per reports, in a statement that announced the sudden loss of accreditation of journalists, Belarus’s Foreign Ministry said, “In the current situation, we are forced to exercise our sovereign right and apply the necessary protective measures, including in the form of new provisions of the regulations”.

The ministry also added that journalists can apply for accreditation starting Monday, October 5 and that the processing time for temporary accreditation was 5 days and 30 days for permanent accreditation. According to reports, eleven reporters are currently detained in Belarus for taking part in ‘unauthorized protests’.

Read: US Imposes Sanctions On Belarusian Officials For ‘falsifying’ Election Results

US sanctions Belarusian Officials

Meanwhile, United States has imposed sanctions on eight Belarusian officials for their alleged role in falsifying the results of presidential elections and violent crackdown on protesters. The US Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) designated those individuals following EU sanctions on 40 people, including the interior minister and the head of the election commission.

Similarly, UK and Canada have also announced sanctions against Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko. In addition, they have also placed sanctions on Lukashenko’s son and other senior government officials.

(With AP inputs)

Read: Belarus Hits Back EU With Retaliatory Sanctions, Threatens ‘more Serious Consequences’

Read: Merkel Says EU Sanction On Belarus ‘important Signal’ For Those Who Hinder Democracy