A/HRC/29/43 73. During a press conference held in Minsk on 29 January 2015, reported by the agency Minsk Novosti, the President spoke out once again in favour of the death penalty, stating that he was “increasingly inclined to believe that, for wilful killing, we should put a person against the wall”. 74. The Special Rapporteur remains concerned that those subject to the death penalty in Belarus are being denied a fair trial, 43 that the date and time of executions are not reported, the bodies of the executed are not returned to relatives and the location of the burial site is not disclosed.44 75. At its universal periodic review in 2010, Belarus accepted to respect minimum standards with regard to the death penalty (see A/HRC/15/16, para. 97.23). I. Freedom of opinion and expression 76. During the period under review, major legal changes further aggravated the situation of the right to free expression and media pluralism, and repressions against independent journalists and publishers continued. 77. The law on mass media has had a negative impact on freedom of expression on the Internet; the authorities arbitrarily block websites containing information that they consider is a threat to State interests. Several Internet sites were blocked on 19 December 2014, prior even to the announced date of entry into force of the new legislation. Access was permanently or temporarily cut to a great number of information websites (including belapan.com, belapan.by, naviny.by, belaruspartisan.org, charter97.org, udf.by, 21.by, gazetaby.com and zautra.by) without any reason given.45 78. On 27 March 2015, Belarusian Internet providers blocked Charter97, Belaruspartisan and Viasna, the most important civic news websites. The blocking notice referred to Presidential Decree No. 60 of 2010.46 79. The amendments have also had an impact on traditional mass media. Distributors of printed media, including bookshops, and broadcasters must register with the Ministry of Information. Other domestic legislation, such as criminal provisions and anti-extremism laws, are being used to restrict freedom of expression. In particular, the Council of Ministers adopted resolution No. 810 on 21 August 2014, in which it created an expert committee on evaluation of information products for signs of extremism. The Special Rapporteur is concerned about the potentially broad interpretations of “extremism” and “extremist materials” in the implementation of the resolution. 47 80. The Special Rapporteur also expresses concern at the ongoing attacks on journalists of the independent print and Internet media who face arbitrary arrests, warnings and criminal convictions, as well as administrative prosecutions. 43 44 45 46 47 14 See A/HRC/26/NGO/113. OHCHR, “Halt further executions – UN expert calls on Belarus for an immediate death sentence moratorium”, press release, 25 April 2014. Viasna, “Situation of Human Rights in Belarus” (see footnote 3). BAJ, “Some providers totally block Charter97, Belaruspartisan and Viasna”, 27 March 2015. See Belarusian Helsinki Committee et al, Analytical report, July - September 2014 (available at http://belhelcom.org/sites/default/files/ANALYTICAL%20REPORT%20JULY%20SEPTEMBER.pd f).