lawlessness in Belarus
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August 2020
Torture and violence in 2020 – Ihar’s story
28 years old, freelancer. "I have decided that I'd rather take to the streets and get hit in the head than be ashamed of sitting everything out at home"
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News
Nobel Prize laureate Ales Bialiatski pleads not guilty at sham trial
The trial against Viasna human rights defenders, including the Nobel Peace Prize laureate Ales Bialiatski, commenced on January 5 in Minsk. The defendants face 7 to 12 years of imprisonment.
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August 2020
Torture and abuse in 2020 – Aliaksei’s story
25 years old. "We cannot win without a fight, and the situation can't be resolved peacefully anymore"
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Articles
Family ties from behind bars: Imprisoned Belarusian families
As of December 28, 2022, there are more than 1,400 political prisoners in Belarus. The Viasna Human Rights Center continues telling the stories of people who ended up in prison…
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Articles
“Polish border guards didn’t want to let us in”: How Belarusians become refugees twice over
Aksana Dabryyanets and her daughter Valeryia had to flee from the repression of the Belarusian regime to Ukraine in 2021. After the Russia-Ukraine war began, staying in Ukraine became dangerous,…
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Articles
“Welcome to Gestapo”: How political prisoners were tortured in Belarus in 2022
The Viasna human rights defenders continue documenting all cases of torture and cruel, inhuman, and degrading treatment with the belief that the perpetrators will eventually be brought to justice, and…
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August 2020
Torture and abuse in 2020 – story of Aksana D.
22 years old, freelancer. "I was told that child protection workers were going to pay us a visit. That's what sent me reeling"
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August 2020
Torture and abuse in 2020 – story of Masha M.
22 years old, journalist. "I didn't even know Akrestsina existed."
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News
Belarusian ex-investigator sentenced to 11 years of imprisonment
Yauhen Yushkevich, a former investigator and founder of the ByChange project aimed at retraining dismissed security forces officers and civil servants, was convicted on December 26.
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News
Married couple convicted of participating in protest march based on photo from book
Belarusians Darya and Mikhail Sudnik were sentenced to three years of home confinement with penal labor. They were charged with blocking the roadway at one of the 2020 protest marches.…