Belarus targets opposition activists with raids and property seizures
Belarus targets opposition activists with raids and property seizures
FILE - In this photo provided by the Belarusian Presidential Press Service, Belarus President Alexander Lukashenko speaks to military personnel during his visit to Oshmyany District, Grodno region of Belarus on March 26, 2024. Authorities in Belarus on Thursday announced raids and the seizure of property belonging to 104 opposition activists who have fled the country, the latest step in a crackdown on dissent that has continued unabated for nearly four years. Belarus’ authoritarian president, Alexander Lukashenko, unleashed the crackdown in August 2020, when mass protests erupted against his rule following his disputed reelection that the opposition and the West have denounced as rigged. (Belarusian Presidential Press Service via AP, File)
FILE - Belarusian riot police block demonstrators gather to honor 31-year-old Raman Bandarenka, who died at a Minsk hospital after several hours of surgery due to serious injuries, during an opposition rally to protest the official presidential election results in Minsk, Belarus, on Nov. 15, 2020. Authorities in Belarus have announced raids and the seizure of property of 104 opposition activists who have fled the country. The action announced on Thursday, May 16, 2024 was the latest step in the crackdown on dissent that has continued unabated for nearly four years. (AP Photo, File)
FILE - Exiled Belarusian opposition leader Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya displays a flag symbolizing the Belarus opposition as she delivers her speech at the European Parliament, on Sept. 13, 2023 in Strasbourg, eastern France. Authorities in Belarus have announced raids and the seizure of property of 104 opposition activists who have fled the country. The action announced on Thursday, May 16, 2024 was the latest step in the crackdown on dissent that has continued unabated for nearly four years. (AP Photo/Jean-Francois Badias, File)
FILE - In this photo provided by the Belarusian Presidential Press Service, Belarus President Alexander Lukashenko speaks to military personnel during his visit to Oshmyany District, Grodno region of Belarus on March 26, 2024. Authorities in Belarus on Thursday announced raids and the seizure of property belonging to 104 opposition activists who have fled the country, the latest step in a crackdown on dissent that has continued unabated for nearly four years. Belarus’ authoritarian president, Alexander Lukashenko, unleashed the crackdown in August 2020, when mass protests erupted against his rule following his disputed reelection that the opposition and the West have denounced as rigged. (Belarusian Presidential Press Service via AP, File)
FILE - In this photo provided by the Belarusian Presidential Press Service, Belarus President Alexander Lukashenko speaks to military personnel during his visit to Oshmyany District, Grodno region of Belarus on March 26, 2024. Authorities in Belarus on Thursday announced raids and the seizure of property belonging to 104 opposition activists who have fled the country, the latest step in a crackdown on dissent that has continued unabated for nearly four years. Belarus’ authoritarian president, Alexander Lukashenko, unleashed the crackdown in August 2020, when mass protests erupted against his rule following his disputed reelection that the opposition and the West have denounced as rigged. (Belarusian Presidential Press Service via AP, File)
FILE - Belarusian riot police block demonstrators gather to honor 31-year-old Raman Bandarenka, who died at a Minsk hospital after several hours of surgery due to serious injuries, during an opposition rally to protest the official presidential election results in Minsk, Belarus, on Nov. 15, 2020. Authorities in Belarus have announced raids and the seizure of property of 104 opposition activists who have fled the country. The action announced on Thursday, May 16, 2024 was the latest step in the crackdown on dissent that has continued unabated for nearly four years. (AP Photo, File)
FILE - Belarusian riot police block demonstrators gather to honor 31-year-old Raman Bandarenka, who died at a Minsk hospital after several hours of surgery due to serious injuries, during an opposition rally to protest the official presidential election results in Minsk, Belarus, on Nov. 15, 2020. Authorities in Belarus have announced raids and the seizure of property of 104 opposition activists who have fled the country. The action announced on Thursday, May 16, 2024 was the latest step in the crackdown on dissent that has continued unabated for nearly four years. (AP Photo, File)
FILE - Exiled Belarusian opposition leader Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya displays a flag symbolizing the Belarus opposition as she delivers her speech at the European Parliament, on Sept. 13, 2023 in Strasbourg, eastern France. Authorities in Belarus have announced raids and the seizure of property of 104 opposition activists who have fled the country. The action announced on Thursday, May 16, 2024 was the latest step in the crackdown on dissent that has continued unabated for nearly four years. (AP Photo/Jean-Francois Badias, File)
FILE - Exiled Belarusian opposition leader Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya displays a flag symbolizing the Belarus opposition as she delivers her speech at the European Parliament, on Sept. 13, 2023 in Strasbourg, eastern France. Authorities in Belarus have announced raids and the seizure of property of 104 opposition activists who have fled the country. The action announced on Thursday, May 16, 2024 was the latest step in the crackdown on dissent that has continued unabated for nearly four years. (AP Photo/Jean-Francois Badias, File)
TALLINN, Estonia (AP) — Authorities in Belarus on Thursday announced raids and the seizure of property belonging to 104 opposition activists who have fled the country, the latest step in a crackdown on dissent that has continued unabated for nearly four years.
Belarus’ authoritarian president, Alexander Lukashenko, unleashed the crackdown in August 2020, when mass protests erupted against his rule following his disputed reelection that the opposition and the West have denounced as rigged.
More than 35,000 people have been arrested, thousands have been brutally beaten in custody, and dozens of independent news organizations and rights groups have been shut down, and journalists imprisoned.
About 500,000 people have since fled the country of 9.5 million, and the authorities this year began a campaign against Belarusians abroad who call for tougher sanctions against the country.
Belarus’ Investigative Committee said Thursday the latest raids and seizures targeted activists who criticized Belarusian authorities abroad and rallied to mark the anniversary of Belarus’ independence. The authorities launched a criminal probe on the charges of “forming an extremist group” and “discrediting Belarus,” criminal offenses that can result in prison terms of up to seven years.
Officials said they tracked down participants of the rallies in Poland, Lithuania, Belgium, Georgia, the Czech Republic, the U.S. and other countries that took place on March 25 to mark the first time Belarus had been declared an independent state in 1918 — an anniversary the Belarusian opposition celebrates every year.
Investigative Committee spokesman Sergei Kabakovich said in a statement that the activists were “fugitive puppets,” and he accused them of “calling for economic and political pressure on our country.”
Belarus’ opposition leader Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya, who in 2020 left the country under pressure from the authorities, said the raids and the seizures are “the authorities’ revenge on Belarusians who continue to fight the dictatorship.”
“Lukashenko’s regime tries to sow fear among Belarusians not just inside Belarus, but abroad, as well,” Tsikhanouskaya said. “Belarusians are living in tough conditions that appear similar to Stalin times — toughening repressions, arbitrary arrests and constant instability.”
Viasna, Belarus’ oldest and most prominent rights group, has counted just under 1,400 political prisoners in Belarus, including the group’s founder Ales Bialiatski, who was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2022.