Latest Belarus News
Belarus sentences 12 to up to 25 years for attack on Russian warplane
TALLINN, Estonia (AP) — A Belarusian court on Friday convicted 12 people, most of them in absentia, and sentenced them to prison terms of up to 25 years for an attack on an airfield that damaged a Russian military radar plane. The Beriev A-50 plane was hit by a drone attack at the...
Belarus opposition urges immediate release of over 200 political prisoners in dire state
TALLINN, Estonia (AP) — Belarusian opposition leader in exile Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya on Thursday said 224 political prisoners in Belarus must be freed urgently, and called on Western countries to negotiate their release with the Belarusian authorities. Belarus' authoritarian...
A Belarusian opposition leader hails Lithuania's decision to seek ICC investigation into president
THE HAGUE, Netherlands (AP) — Belarus' exiled opposition leader hailed Lithuania's move to seek prosecution at the International Criminal Court of her country's authoritarian president and other officials, saying Tuesday that it will give fresh hope to her homeland. “For me...
Belarusian authorities pressure pardoned political prisoners, rights groups say
TALLINN, Estonia (AP) — Belarusian human rights activists Monday accused the government of pressuring political prisoners who have been pardoned by authoritarian President Alexander Lukashenko and forcing them to cooperate with authorities. During the past three months, Lukashenko...
Lithuania refers Belarus to the ICC, alleging crimes against humanity over opposition crackdown
BRUSSELS (AP) — 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...
Baltic states and Poland seek EU funds for a massive border defense line
HELSINKI (AP) — NATO members Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and Poland will seek European Union funding to build a network of bunkers, barriers, distribution lines and military warehouses along their borders with Russia and Belarus, Estonia’s officials said Saturday. The three Baltic...
Activists say police in Belarus beat LGBTQ+ people while arresting and charging them
TALLINN, Estonia (AP) — Rights activists in harshly repressive Belarus say police recently subjected at least 20 LGBTQ+ people to questioning, during which some were beaten and were charged with crimes. Homosexuality was decriminalized in Belarus in 1994, but animosity toward...
Teachers in Belarus are targeted for links with 'extremist' group, says rights group
TALLINN, Estonia (AP) — Dozens of teachers in Belarus have been detained or interrogated by authorities as part of the country's wide-ranging crackdown on dissent, a respected local human rights organization said Wednesday. Pavel Sapelka, a spokesman for the Viasna rights group...
A Belarus government critic appeals to the Serbian president against his extradition
BELGRADE, Serbia (AP) — A prominent Belarus filmmaker and a critic of Minsk's authoritarian government handed a letter to the Serbian presidency signed by hundreds of artists on Monday, appealing against his extradition to his home country where he says he could be tortured and killed. ...
Authoritarian Belarus president pardons 37 political prisoners out of more than 1,300
TALLINN, Estonia (AP) — Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko on Monday pardoned 37 people serving prison sentences for “extremist" crimes, his office said. It is the fourth time since July that the authoritarian leader has pardoned dozens of political prisoners in what some...
