Belarus cracking down on internet freedom

Internet users in Belarus are facing new restrictions as the government has begun blocking sites it considers to be "extremist".

It is being seen as a potential setback for the country's opposition movement, who use the internet to organise themselves. President Aleksander Lukashenko faces an increasingly restive opposition, and demonstrations followed the last election he won, allegedly with 80 per cent of the vote.

Many of those arrested are still in jail.

From Friday, any internet site providing goods or services to users in Belarus must use the domain name '.by'. This would make it illegal for firms like Facebook, Amazon, or eBay to operate in the country.

Al Jazeera's Jonah Hull reports.