Prominent Belarus journalist fined in password case

MINSK, Belarus – The editor of the largest independent news website in Belarus has been fined in connection with a case in which journalists were accused of illegally accessing a state-owned newswire.

Tut.by editor Marina Zolotava was fined 7,650 Belarusian rubles ($3,600) after a court in the capital, Minsk, ruled Monday that she had failed to act against colleagues who allegedly shared a password for the state news agency Belta and used it to get unauthorized access to subscriber-only material.

Zolotava, who had faced a potential five-year prison sentence, denied the charge, saying she didn’t use the account in question and didn’t know anyone had done so.

Another 14 Belarusian journalists who were originally arrested in connection with the alleged password-sharing earlier paid smaller fines on lesser charges of unsanctioned access to information.