Latest Alexander Lukashenko News
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...
In Belarus, the native language is vanishing as Russian takes prominence
TALLINN, Estonia (AP) — When school started this year for Mikalay in Belarus, the 15-year-old discovered that his teachers and administrators no longer called him by that name. Instead, they referred to him as Nikolai, its Russian equivalent. What's more, classes at his school —...
Serbian appeals court overturns ruling to extradite to Belarus a critic of its authoritarian regime
BELGRADE, Serbia (AP) — An appeals court in Serbia on Wednesday overturned an earlier court ruling that a prominent critic of the authoritarian government in Belarus should be extradited to that country, and said that the case must be retried. Serbian authorities arrested...
Belarusians fleeing repression at home say they face new threats and intimidation abroad
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' president pardons 30 political prisoners
TALLINN, Estonia (AP) — Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko pardoned 30 people Wednesday who were serving prison sentences for "protest-related crimes,” his press service said. It's the third time in three months that the authoritarian leader has pardoned prisoners. The...
Artists urge Serbia not to extradite to Belarus a critic of its authoritarian regime
TALLINN, Estonia (AP) — More than 70 European artists and film directors have signed an open letter urging Serbia not to extradite to Belarus a filmmaker and a prominent critic of the authoritarian government in Minsk, who is wanted in his home country for alleged tax evasion. The...
Belarus sends more troops and aircraft to its border with Ukraine
TALLINN, Estonia (AP) — Belarus has deployed aircraft and air defense troops to its border with Ukraine, a day after President Alexander Lukashenko announced he would station almost a third of the country’s military along the frontier. The Belarusian military also deployed...
Belarus' authoritarian leader pardons 30 out of some 1,400 political prisoners
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...
