Arrested Belarus dissident weeps in interview on state TV
3 years, 9 months ago

Arrested Belarus dissident weeps in interview on state TV

Associated Press  

KYIV, Ukraine — The dissident Belarusian journalist and opposition activist who was arrested after his airline flight was diverted to Minsk wept Thursday in an interview on state television, saying he was fully cooperating with investigators and declaring that he respects the authoritarian president he opposed for years. Asked by the interviewer if he respects Lukashenko, Pratasevich said “certainly.” Pratsevich, who fled Belarus in 2019, said he had been in contact with conspirators who planned a forceful seizure of power in Belarus and that he was a liaison between them and opposition leader Sviatlana Tsikhanuskaya, who fled to Lithuania after losing the election to Lukashenko. Pratasevich said that “most likely, there are still several sleeper cells” of overthrow plotters in Belarus. In footage broadcast Wednesday on state TV, Pratasevich said demonstrations against Lukashenko had fizzled and the opposition should wait for a better moment to revive them. “When the plane was on a landing path, I realized that it’s useless to panic.” Some time before the flight, Pratasevich said, he had a rift with Franak Viachorka, an adviser to Tsikhanouskaya.

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History of this topic

Authoritarian leader of Belarus is sworn for a 7th term and tells his critics ‘you have no future’
4 days, 21 hours ago

Authoritarian leader of Belarus is sworn for a 7th term and tells his critics ‘you have no future’

Associated Press  

TALLINN, Estonia — Belarus’ authoritarian President Alexander Lukashenko was sworn in Tuesday to a seventh term, and he mocked those who derided him as “Europe’s last dictator” by saying his country has more democracy “than those who cast themselves as its models.” In this photo released by Belarus’ Presidential Press Service, Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko takes his oath of office …

Belarusian-American has his prison sentence extended amid continuous crackdown on dissent in Belarus
5 months, 3 weeks ago

Belarusian-American has his prison sentence extended amid continuous crackdown on dissent in Belarus

The Independent  

For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy policy A Belarusian-American has had his …

Lithuania refers Belarus to the ICC, alleging crimes against humanity over opposition crackdown
5 months, 4 weeks ago

Lithuania refers Belarus to the ICC, alleging crimes against humanity over opposition crackdown

Hindustan Times  

BRUSSELS — Lithuania on Monday referred the hard-line president of Belarus, Alexander Lukashenko, members of his government, security officials and military officers to the International Criminal Court, accusing them of committing crimes against humanity by forcing their own people to flee the country. Lithuania refers Belarus to the ICC, alleging crimes against humanity over opposition crackdown Opposition groups in Belarus …

Lithuania refers Belarus to the ICC, alleging crimes against humanity over opposition crackdown
5 months, 4 weeks ago

Lithuania refers Belarus to the ICC, alleging crimes against humanity over opposition crackdown

The Independent  

For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Opposition groups in Belarus have faced a severe crackdown …

Poland charges 3 Belarusian officials with diverting a plane to Minsk in 2021 to arrest a dissident
6 months, 3 weeks ago

Poland charges 3 Belarusian officials with diverting a plane to Minsk in 2021 to arrest a dissident

Associated Press  

WARSAW, Poland — Polish prosecutors on Friday charged three Belarusian officials with using a ruse to divert a Poland-registered plane while in flight three years ago and violating the freedom of 132 people on board as they sought to arrest a dissident. The three officials are accused of ordering the plane carrying a dissident blogger to make an unplanned landing …

Poland charges 3 Belarusians who forced the diversion of a plane to Minsk in 2021
6 months, 3 weeks ago

Poland charges 3 Belarusians who forced the diversion of a plane to Minsk in 2021

The Independent  

For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Please try again later {{ …

Belarus human rights group denounces detention of priest who posted Ukrainian flag on social media
9 months ago

Belarus human rights group denounces detention of priest who posted Ukrainian flag on social media

Associated Press  

TALLINN, Estonia — The prominent Belarusian human rights group Viasna on Tuesday denounced an extension to the detention of a Roman Catholic priest who was jailed after displaying the Ukrainian flag in a social media post. The priest’s jailing comes amid a sweeping and severe crackdown on dissent in Belarus that began as a wave of large and persistent protests …

An exiled Belarus opposition figure is sentenced in absentia to 20 years
9 months, 1 week ago

An exiled Belarus opposition figure is sentenced in absentia to 20 years

Associated Press  

TALLINN, Estonia — A court in Belarus has sentenced a top opposition figure living in exile to 20 years in absentia, the latest in a yearslong crackdown on dissent in the country. The court in the capital Minsk passed the sentence late Thursday on Franak Viachorka — an advisor to opposition leader Svitalana Tsikhanouskaya — after convicting him of charges …

Serbian court rules to extradite to Belarus a critic of its authoritarian regime
9 months, 2 weeks ago

Serbian court rules to extradite to Belarus a critic of its authoritarian regime

Associated Press  

BELGRADE, Serbia — A Serbian court has ruled to extradite a Belarusian filmmaker and pro-democracy political activist to the authoritarian government in Minsk where he could face prison and torture, his lawyers and supporters said Friday. “Today, the lawyers of movie director Andrei Hniot received the decision of the Higher Court in Belgrade on Andrei’s possible extradition to Belarus,” said …

18 arrested in Poland, accused of planning hostile acts on behalf of Russia, Belarus
9 months, 3 weeks ago

18 arrested in Poland, accused of planning hostile acts on behalf of Russia, Belarus

LA Times  

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky talks during a joint press conference with European Parliament President Roberta Metsola in Kyiv, Ukraine, on May 9. Poland has arrested 18 people on allegations of pursuing hostile activities or planning sabotage on behalf of Russia and Belarus, including plans to assassinate Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky, the interior minister said Monday. Ten of those arrested since …

Exiled Belarus opposition leader demands news of her imprisoned husband
1 year ago

Exiled Belarus opposition leader demands news of her imprisoned husband

Associated Press  

VILNIUS, Lithuania — Exiled Belarusian opposition leader Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya on Friday marched to the country’s embassy in Lithuania, holding a photo of her imprisoned husband and demanding information about him after a year of being incommunicado. Tsikhanouski has been behind bars since being arrested in 2020 after announcing plans to challenge authoritarian President Alexander Lukashenko in that year’s election. The …

2 journalists are detained in Belarus as part of a crackdown on dissent
1 year, 3 months ago

2 journalists are detained in Belarus as part of a crackdown on dissent

The Independent  

For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy policy Two journalists were detained in …

Former official under Belarus President Lukashenko to face Swiss trial over enforced disappearances
1 year, 7 months ago

Former official under Belarus President Lukashenko to face Swiss trial over enforced disappearances

Associated Press  

GENEVA — A former member of Belarus President Aleksander Lukashenko’s special security forces is to face trial in Switzerland next month for the forced disappearances of political opponents in the late 1990s, rights groups said Wednesday. Activists called it a “watershed moment” in international justice that could trigger prosecutions abroad of other Belarus officials — including Lukashenko, whose regime has …

Belarus arrests a prominent journalist in its continued crackdown on dissent
1 year, 8 months ago

Belarus arrests a prominent journalist in its continued crackdown on dissent

Associated Press  

TALLINN, Estonia — Authorities in Belarus have arrested a prominent journalist who has written for the U.S.-funded Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, the latest step in a yearslong crackdown on opposition figures, independent journalists and human rights activists. Belarus’ oldest and most prominent human rights group, Viasna, reported that Karnei has been placed in the Akrestina pretrial detention center, notorious for …

‘There are no heroes’: Belarus president on Wagner mutiny against Vladimir Putin
1 year, 8 months ago

‘There are no heroes’: Belarus president on Wagner mutiny against Vladimir Putin

Hindustan Times  

Belarusian president Alexander Lukashenko who had brokered the deal to end the Wagner mutiny said that the mercenaries who rebelled against Russian president Vladimir Putin “very serious ones, are still in the camps they'd withdrawn to after Bakhmut.” Belarusian president Alexander Lukashenko. If we create armed groups like this, we need to keep an eye on them and pay serious …

Belarus opposition leader says anonymous message alleges that her husband died in prison
1 year, 8 months ago

Belarus opposition leader says anonymous message alleges that her husband died in prison

Associated Press  

TALLINN, Estonia — Belarusian opposition leader Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya said Tuesday that she had received an anonymous message alleging that her imprisoned husband, also an opposition figure, died behind bars. Siarhei Tsikhanouski, 44, a popular blogger and opposition activist, was arrested in 2020 after announcing plans to run against Belarus’ authoritarian leader, Alexander Lukashenko, in presidential elections that year. She added …

Lukashenko reveals the astonishing conversations he had at the weekend with Prigozhin
1 year, 9 months ago

Lukashenko reveals the astonishing conversations he had at the weekend with Prigozhin

Daily Mail  

Belarus dictator Alexander Lukashenko has revealed the astonishing conversations he had at the weekend with Yevgeny Prigozhin, noting that Vladimir Putin was furious that the Wagner chief wouldn't take his calls during the brief uprising. Lukashenko warned Prigozhin that the Kremlin would never fulfill his demand to oust Russian defence miniter Shoigu and the chief of the general staff, General …

Prigozhin arrives in Belarus as Lukashenko takes credit for rescuing Russia from coup
1 year, 9 months ago

Prigozhin arrives in Belarus as Lukashenko takes credit for rescuing Russia from coup

The Telegraph  

Yevgeny Prigozhin, the head of the mutinous Wagner private army, arrived for his apparent exile in Belarus as his fighters were handed a new role training the country’s army. “The security guarantees that he gave were offered: It’s true that he is in Belarus today,” Alexander Lukashenko, the Belarussian president, said after taking credit for rescuing Russia from a coup. …

Belarus leader Lukashenko’s purported mediation in Kremlin crisis stretches credibility to the limit
1 year, 9 months ago

Belarus leader Lukashenko’s purported mediation in Kremlin crisis stretches credibility to the limit

CNN  

CNN — Nearly three years ago, Russian President Vladimir Putin stood by Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko in his hour of need, backing Europe’s longest-running dictator as he faced a wave of street protests. A quick recap: A major crisis shook the foundations of the Russian state Saturday, as forces loyal to Wagner mercenary boss Yevgeny Prigozhin marched toward Moscow. The …

Belarusian dissident who was pulled off forced-down plane says he has been pardoned
1 year, 10 months ago

Belarusian dissident who was pulled off forced-down plane says he has been pardoned

Associated Press  

TALLINN, Estonia — The Belarusian state news agency on Monday reported that a dissident journalist who was pulled off a flight that was forced to land in the country and was later sentenced to eight years in prison says he has received a presidential pardon. He ran a Telegram messaging app channel that was widely used by participants in mass …

Photos, video of Belarus leader emerge after days of absences that sparked health rumors
1 year, 10 months ago

Photos, video of Belarus leader emerge after days of absences that sparked health rumors

Associated Press  

TALLINN, Estonia — For nearly a week, the whereabouts of Belarus’ authoritarian leader Alexander Lukashenko have been a mystery. Then came Monday’s state news report on his appearance at the central command post of the Belarusian air force, although there was no explanation of his recent absences or report on his health. Russian lawmaker Konstantin Zatulin told Russian media Sunday …

Alexander Lukashenko health: Belarus leader misses key state event prompting ill health rumours
1 year, 10 months ago

Alexander Lukashenko health: Belarus leader misses key state event prompting ill health rumours

The Independent  

For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy policy Belarus’s president Alexander Lukashenko has …

Belarus activist Roman Protasevich jailed after his Ryanair flight is forcibly divered by regime
1 year, 10 months ago

Belarus activist Roman Protasevich jailed after his Ryanair flight is forcibly divered by regime

The Independent  

A journalist arrested after Belarus forcibly diverted his Ryanair flight was sentenced to eight years in jail on Wednesday after what opposition leaders called a “fake trial”. Roman Protasevich, 27, was flying from Greece to Lithuania almost two years ago when Belarussian air traffic controllers ordered the pilots to land in Minsk on the false pretext of a bomb threat. …

Dissident pulled off plane by Belarus gets 8 years in prison
1 year, 10 months ago

Dissident pulled off plane by Belarus gets 8 years in prison

Associated Press  

TALLINN, Estonia — A court in Belarus convicted a dissident journalist who was arrested after being pulled off a commercial flight that was diverted to the country and sentenced him Wednesday to eight years in prison. Raman Pratasevich’s dramatic arrest in May 2021 elicited outrage in the West, with some leaders saying the plane’s diversion was tantamount to state- Belarusian …

10-year sentence asked for journalist forced down in Belarus
1 year, 11 months ago

10-year sentence asked for journalist forced down in Belarus

Associated Press  

TALLINN, Estonia — Prosecutors requested a 10-year prison sentence Friday for a dissident Belarusian journalist who was arrested after a warplane forced down a commercial airliner he was taking to Lithuania. Pratasevich ran a Telegram messaging app channel that was widely used by participants in mass protests against the disputed August 2020 election that gave authoritarian Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko …

Belarus drops charges against Polish minority activist
1 year, 11 months ago

Belarus drops charges against Polish minority activist

The Independent  

Sign up for the daily Inside Washington email for exclusive US coverage and analysis sent to your inbox Get our free Inside Washington email Get our free Inside Washington email SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy policy A prominent Polish minority activist has been released from custody …

Belarus arrests Russian separated from daughter over sketch
2 years ago

Belarus arrests Russian separated from daughter over sketch

Al Jazeera  

Moskalyov, whose child drew an anti-war picture, was sentenced to jail for discrediting the Russia army but had fled. A Russian father, who was separated from his daughter over a Ukraine-themed school drawing, has been detained in Belarus after fleeing house arrest in Russia, Belarusian authorities said. Alexei Moskalyov, a 54-year-old single father from the town of Yefremov south of …

Reporter for Russian paper sentenced to 3 years in Belarus
2 years ago

Reporter for Russian paper sentenced to 3 years in Belarus

Associated Press  

TALLINN, Estonia — A court in Belarus on Thursday sentenced a reporter for the now-closed local edition of one of Russia’s most popular newspapers to three years in prison for insulting the country’s authoritarian leader. The story was taken down from the newspaper’s website quickly, but authorities blocked the website and Komsomolskaya Pravda later closed its Belarus operation. Lukashenko has …

UN rights chief decries ‘systematic repression’ in Belarus
2 years ago

UN rights chief decries ‘systematic repression’ in Belarus

Associated Press  

GENEVA — The U.N. human rights chief called on Belarus Friday to end its “systematic repression” of critics and immediately release people held on political grounds, saying some violations may amount to crimes against humanity. Authorities targeted opposition activists, journalists, medical workers, members of shooting sports clubs and people working with drones, according to Viasna, Belarus’ oldest and most prominent …

Leader of Belarus acknowledges attack on Russian warplane
2 years ago

Leader of Belarus acknowledges attack on Russian warplane

Associated Press  

TALLINN, Estonia — The authoritarian leader of Belarus said Tuesday that an alleged Ukrainian saboteur and more than 20 accomplices were detained over an attack on a Russian warplane stationed near his country’s capital. Belarusian guerrillas from the Association of Security Forces of Belarus claimed responsibility for the attack last week, saying the group, also known as BYPOL, used two …

Suspects of group that destroyed Russian plane detained: Belarus
2 years ago

Suspects of group that destroyed Russian plane detained: Belarus

Al Jazeera  

Belarusian anti-government activists said last month that they had blown up a Russian military surveillance aircraft in a drone attack. Belarusian anti-government activists said last month that they had blown up a sophisticated Russian military aircraft – a Beriev A-50 surveillance plane – in a drone attack at an airfield near the Belarusian capital Minsk, a claim disputed by Moscow …

Belarus hands exiled opposition leader 15-year jail sentence
2 years ago

Belarus hands exiled opposition leader 15-year jail sentence

The Independent  

For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy policy A court in Belarus has …

Poland expels Belarus diplomat in retaliatory move
2 years, 1 month ago

Poland expels Belarus diplomat in retaliatory move

Associated Press  

WARSAW, Poland — Poland’s Foreign Ministry said Thursday that a Belarusian diplomat was asked to leave the country amid swelling tensions over the imprisonment of a prominent ethnic Polish journalist in Belarus. The defense attache at the Embassy of Belarus was to leave Warsaw very soon, Foreign Ministry spokesman Lukasz Jasina told Polish new agency PAP. Jasina said the action …

Belarus hands 8-year term to journalist for top Polish paper
2 years, 1 month ago

Belarus hands 8-year term to journalist for top Polish paper

Associated Press  

TALLINN, Estonia — A Belarusian court on Wednesday sentenced a journalist and prominent member of the country’s sizable Polish minority to eight years in prison, amid an ongoing crackdown on critics of authoritarian President Alexander Lukashenko’s regime. Andrzej Poczobut, 49, was found guilty of harming Belarus’ national security and “inciting discord” in a closed trial held in the western city …

Svetlana Tikhanovskaya: How a former teacher with no political ambitions is taking on Belarus' strongman
2 years, 2 months ago

Svetlana Tikhanovskaya: How a former teacher with no political ambitions is taking on Belarus' strongman

Firstpost  

Moscow: Svetlana Tikhanovskaya has gone from soft-spoken political newcomer to world-renowned Belarusian Opposition figure despite never having had political ambitions. Since being forced to flee Belarus in 2020, she has urged greater Western pressure on Belarusian strongman Alexander Lukashenko who has lent his country as a staging ground for Russia’s operations in Ukraine. Like thousands of Belarusians, Tikhanovskaya was forced …

Imprisoned Belarusian activist undergoes surgery
2 years, 3 months ago

Imprisoned Belarusian activist undergoes surgery

The Independent  

For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy policy A prominent member of the …

Imprisoned Belarus activist taken to hospital emergency unit
2 years, 4 months ago

Imprisoned Belarus activist taken to hospital emergency unit

The Independent  

For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy policy A prominent member of the …

Belarus behind bomb hoax that grounded dissident’s flight: ICAO
2 years, 8 months ago

Belarus behind bomb hoax that grounded dissident’s flight: ICAO

Al Jazeera  

The UN’s aviation agency has for the first time accused senior Belarus officials of being behind the forced grounding of a flight between Greece and Lithuania that led to the arrest of a dissident journalist. Belarus air traffic controllers ordered the Ryanair flight to land in Minsk as it was travelling between Athens and Vilnius in May 2021, citing a …

Belarus sentences journalist to eight years for ‘state treason’
2 years, 8 months ago

Belarus sentences journalist to eight years for ‘state treason’

Al Jazeera  

Belarus has sentenced a journalist, who covered protests against President Alexander Lukashenko, to an additional eight years in prison for “state treason”, according to the channel she worked for. Katerina Bakhvalova – who used the pen name Katerina Andreyeva – was already serving a two-year sentence for “violating public order” and was due to be released in September. “Our colleague …

Woman forced to land in Belarus gets 6 years in prison
2 years, 10 months ago

Woman forced to land in Belarus gets 6 years in prison

Associated Press  

LVIV, Ukraine — A woman who ran a Belarusian opposition messaging app channel and was arrested along with her activist boyfriend when an airliner they were on was forced to land in Belarus was convicted Friday of charges that included inciting social hatred. Sapega and Raman Pratasevich were flying from Athens to Vilnius, Lithuania a year ago when their plane …

Belarus sentences dissident’s girlfriend to six years in prison
2 years, 10 months ago

Belarus sentences dissident’s girlfriend to six years in prison

Al Jazeera  

Sofia Sapega, whose flight was forced to land in Belarus last year, was convicted for inciting social hatred. A Belarusian court sentenced Sofia Sapega, the girlfriend of a dissident arrested after their commercial flight was forced to land in Belarus last year, to six years in prison on Friday for inciting social hatred, according to the Viasna Human Rights Center. …

Stanislav Shushkevich, post-Soviet leader of Belarus, dies
2 years, 10 months ago

Stanislav Shushkevich, post-Soviet leader of Belarus, dies

Associated Press  

LVIV, Ukraine — Stanislav Shushkevich, who steered Belarus to independence, served as its first leader and is reported to have taught Russian to John F. Kennedy assassin Lee Harvey Oswald in the 1960s, has died. “When the occupation of Belarus ends, when peace, the law and sovereignty return to Belarus, streets and monuments to Stanislav Shushkevich will certainly appear in …

UN calls for release of 1,000 political prisoners held in Belarus
3 years ago

UN calls for release of 1,000 political prisoners held in Belarus

Al Jazeera  

Michelle Bachelet, the UN human rights chief, calls for the release of activists, opposition members and journalists from the Belarusian jails. The UN human rights chief has said that more than 1,000 activists, opposition members and journalists are being detained on “politically motivated charges” in Belarus and called for their release. Michelle Bachelet on Thursday said the government of President …

U.S. charges Belarus officials with air piracy in reporter's arrest
3 years, 2 months ago

U.S. charges Belarus officials with air piracy in reporter's arrest

NPR  

U.S. charges Belarus officials with air piracy in reporter's arrest Enlarge this image toggle caption ONT /AP file photo ONT /AP file photo NEW YORK — U.S. prosecutors charged four Belarusian government officials on Thursday with aircraft piracy for diverting a Ryanair flight last year to arrest an opposition journalist, using a ruse that there was a bomb threat. In …

Belarus detains 100 people after KGB shootings: Rights group
3 years, 5 months ago

Belarus detains 100 people after KGB shootings: Rights group

Al Jazeera  

Belarus’s most prominent human rights group said on Friday that some 100 people have been detained in the wake of shootings that left an opposition supporter and a security officer dead. Belarusian authorities reported the incident on Tuesday night, alleging that “an especially dangerous criminal” opened fire on security officers after they showed up at his apartment looking for “individuals …

Belarus court gives opposition activists lengthy sentences
3 years, 6 months ago

Belarus court gives opposition activists lengthy sentences

Associated Press  

KYIV, Ukraine — A court in Belarus on Monday sentenced two leading opposition activists to lengthy prison terms, the latest move in the relentless crackdown that Belarusian authorities have unleashed on dissent in the wake of last year’s anti-government protests. “It’s not a verdict, but rather the revenge of the authorities.” Belarus was rocked by months of protests fueled by …

Lukashenko says Belarusian Olympic defector was ‘manipulated’
3 years, 7 months ago

Lukashenko says Belarusian Olympic defector was ‘manipulated’

Al Jazeera  

Belarus president comments on Tsimanouskaya as he defends election victory and accuses opponents of plotting ‘coup’. Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko has said the Belarusian sprinter who defected at the Olympic Games in Tokyo had been “manipulated” by outside forces and would not have fled abroad otherwise. “Today, Belarus is in the focus of the attention of the whole world,” Lukashenko …

How sports became a ‘battleground for reprisals’ in Belarus
3 years, 7 months ago

How sports became a ‘battleground for reprisals’ in Belarus

Al Jazeera  

Olympic athlete Krystsina Tsimanouskaya joined a group of defecting Belarusian sportspeople when she spurned her homeland. Lukashenko’s tenure as head of the Belarusian Olympic Committee was only slightly shorter than his ongoing presidency – he terminated it last November after the International Olympic Committee barred him from attending the Tokyo Games. “Belarusian athletes have paid a high price for daring …

Belarus runner used quick thinking to avoid being sent home
3 years, 7 months ago

Belarus runner used quick thinking to avoid being sent home

Associated Press  

WARSAW, Poland — A Belarusian Olympic sprinter who feared reprisals back home after publicly criticizing her coaches at the Tokyo Games used quick thinking to get help, using her phone to translate a plea and show it to Japanese police as she tried to avoid being forced onto a plane. The European Union’s foreign policy chief, Josep Borrell, tweeted to …

‘Freedom is worth fighting for’: Belarus activists go on trial
3 years, 7 months ago

‘Freedom is worth fighting for’: Belarus activists go on trial

Al Jazeera  

Key opposition figure Maria Kolesnikova is accused of conspiring to seize power over her role in anti-government protests. Leading members of the Belarusian opposition went on trial on Wednesday, part of a multi-pronged crackdown on dissent in the ex-Soviet nation that was rocked by months of protests over a disputed presidential election. The trial of Kolesnikova and lawyer Maxim Znak, …

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