In the Summer the Ministry of Justice of the Republic of Belarus 2021 issued a warning to BAJ and demanded access to thousands of documents, including all emails for 3.5 years.

Part of the required documents was confiscated by the Investigative Committee of Belarus a few months earlier, some were unavailable and kept inside the office, sealed after police searches.

It cooperated with the European Journalism Centre (EJC), Fojo Media Institute, Norvegian, Danish, and Lithuanian Journalists Unions, the Friedrich Naumann Foundation for Freedom.

[10] BAJ offered legal and psychological assistance to repressed journalists; it helped release detained reporters while working and ensured provision of medical care to ones put in detention centres.

Since 2000 the association published a monthly magazine, Abajour,[15] that served as a platform for discussion on such topics as journalism ethics, handling information, professional responsibilities, etc.

[6][19][20] In 2002-2003, BAJ led a nation-wide campaign against the new Law ‘On Mass Media’ that was designed to restrain independent press and stifle freedom of speech.

[21] The Association advocated for decriminalization of three Articles of the Belarus Criminal Code, which provided for up to two years imprisonment for ‘defamation, libel and insult to high-ranking officials or the president’.

[5] Members of BAJ were numerous times detained, beaten, forbidden to leave the country, faced criminal and administrative charges, called for questioning by the KGB and General Prosecutor, their cameras and documents confiscated.

[29] In early 2011 seven members of the association were arrested and faced legal charges that were explained by human rights defenders as vengeance of the authorities for coverage of the protests after 2010 Belarusian presidential election.

[21] During the 2020–2021 Belarusian protests, BAJ together with Reporters without Borders collected data that showed Belarus was Europe's most dangerous country for journalists in 2020.

[37] The Investigative Committee explained the searches with alleged relation of BAJ to a criminal case under Article 342 (Organisation of group actions causing serious harm to social stability).

Police detained the association's chairman Andrey Bastunets, several other members and freelance journalists, while searching their homes and the BAJ office.

[42][43] On June 21, the Ministry requested thousands of documents, including financial reports, membership list, applications, protocols of sessions, and all emails for 3.5 years.