Iran Press/Europe: The accreditations, issued by the Foreign Ministry, were revoked for 17 journalists including a video journalist and a photographer from Reuters, two from the BBC and four from Radio Liberty, the Belarusian Association of Journalists said.
The Foreign Ministry's decision to revoke the accreditations was taken for security reasons. The ministry declined to say how many journalists had lost their accreditation.
In comments at a government meeting on July 23, President Alexander Lukashenko threatened to expel foreign journalists, accusing them of inciting protests against him before the Aug. 9 election.
Belarus held its presidential election on August 9. According to the Central Election Commission, incumbent President Alexander Lukashenko received 80.1% of the vote, Svetlana Tikhanovskaya garnered 10.12%.
Svetlana refused to recognize the election’s results, left Belarus, and is currently in Lithuania. Protests erupted in the country's capital of Minsk and several other cities following the presidential vote, leading to clashes between protesters and law enforcement officers.
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