Search Results for: Lukashenko

Lithuania filed a case against Belarus at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) on Monday, seeking damages in relation to the alleged large-scale smuggling of irregular migrants into Lithuania by the Lukashenko regime. The case revolves around alleged breaches by Belarus of its obligations under the UN Protocol against the smuggling of Migrants by Land, [...]

A group of independent human rights experts on Monday urged the release of political detainees with disabilities and serious health conditions in Belarus, the UN Human Rights Office (OHCHR) reported. The group of experts said the Belarusian government should consider the immediate release or non-custodial sanctions for persons with disabilities detained in the context of [...]

Independent UN rights experts expressed alarm Thursday about the use of forced psychiatric treatment to punish political dissenters in Belarus. The experts have stated that 33 people have been coerced into undergoing psychiatric treatment in response to political protest. Only eight of these have been reported released, meaning at least 25 more people are involuntarily [...]

The UN Group of Independent Experts on the Human Rights Situation in Belarus reported on Friday that the Belarusian government committed widespread human rights violations, including crimes against humanity against its civilian population to suppress opposition to President Aleksandr Lukashenko. The experts criticized the Belarusian government’s use of widespread measures in 2024 to purge “most [...]

Amnesty International on Friday urged Belarusian authorities to end their cycle of repression in light of the upcoming presidential election on January 26. The human rights organization claims President Alexander Lukashenko’s government is denying the Belarusian population the right to free speech by applying repressive measures such as arbitrary detentions, torture and criminalization of free [...]

Belarus President Alexander Lukashenko announced on Saturday that he has pardoned 20 individuals accused of committing “extremist crimes.” Human rights activists have identified these individuals as political prisoners. This latest act of clemency marks the eighth such pardon since the summer of 2024, bringing the total number of political prisoners released to 207. According to [...]

The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) demanded on Thursday that Belarusian authorities immediately release journalist Yauhen Nikalayevich and all other imprisoned journalists. CPJ’s Europe and Central Asia program coordinator Gulnoza Said emphasized that Nikalayevich’s sentencing demonstrates the ongoing persecution of journalists in the country. Said stated: “The sentencing of journalist Yauhen Nikalayevich is yet another [...]

Belarus has granted asylum to a former Polish judge following espionage charges in Poland. In a decree granting citizenship to 257 people from 16 countries Friday, President Alexander Lukashenko stated that Tomasz Szmydt faces political persecution in Poland. Szmydt defected to Belarus in May and announced his resignation from the Warsaw Provincial Court in a [...]

Belarusian opposition activist Vasil Verameichuk has been detained in Vietnam and extradited to Belarus, where he faces accusations of terrorism and a possible death penalty, the opposition in exile said Thursday. On Wednesday, state television in Belarus showed Verameichuk being taken to Minsk on a nearly empty plane and led down the steps by two [...]

The Viasna Human Rights Center, a human rights organization based in Belarus, reported Tuesday that imprisoned Belarusian activist Maryia Kalesnikava resurfaced after more than 18 months without contact. Kalesnikava met her father in the prison hospital. Kalesnikava, a well-known opposition activist in Belarus, was the head of presidential candidate Viktar Babaryka’s 2020 campaign team. She [...]