Latest Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya News

Belarusians fleeing repression at home say they face new threats and intimidation abroad

Sep. 10, 2024 11:03 AM EDT

TALLINN, Estonia (AP) — More than a half-million Belarusians have fled their country in the past four years as the authoritarian government launched a harsh crackdown on its political opponents. Some of them, however, are discovering that they can't escape intimidation and threats in their new...

Belarus' authoritarian leader pardons 30 out of some 1,400 political prisoners

Aug. 16, 2024 15:41 PM EDT

TALLINN, Estonia (AP) — Belarus' authoritarian President Alexander Lukashenko has pardoned 30 prisoners convicted for taking part in protests, the presidential office said Friday. Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya, the Belarusian opposition leader-in-exile, welcomed the move but vowed to...

Relatives of Belarus' political prisoners complain that East-West swap didn't free their loved ones

Aug. 08, 2024 03:07 AM EDT

TALLINN, Estonia (AP) — A wave of disappointment swept over opposition activists in Belarus last week as the biggest East-West prisoner swap since the Cold War unfolded and they learned it included none of the hundreds of political detainees who've been locked up for years by its authoritarian...

Belarus frees head of banned party as Lukashenko slowly releases some political prisoners

Jul. 22, 2024 10:37 AM EDT

TALLINN, Estonia (AP) — The head of a banned Belarusian opposition party who had been behind bars for two years was released on Monday as the authoritarian country frees a trickle of political prisoners, according to the respected human rights group Viasna. Mikalai Kazlou, who led...

A court in Belarus sentences 20 analysts to prison terms on charges of conspiracy

Jul. 02, 2024 06:03 AM EDT

TALLINN, Estonia (AP) — A court in Belarus has sentenced 20 political analysts to prison terms of at least 10 years each after convicting them in absentia of conspiracy to overthrow the government and taking part in an extremist group. The analysts all live outside Belarus, but...