- Belarusian authorities confirmed on Wednesday that dozens more raids had been carried out against opposition figures suspected of so-called “extremist” activity.
- The latest crackdown targets efforts by opponents of Alexander Lukashenko’s dictatorial regime to create a “people’s embassy.”
- The “embassy” aims to counter Belarusian state propaganda in the United Kingdom, Australia, Brazil, Canada, as well as European Union member states.
Belarusian authorities announced on Wednesday that they had launched dozens of raids targeting people suspected of “extremist” activity in a new rebel effort to establish “people’s embassies” abroad.
The raid is the latest move by the government of authoritarian President Alexander Lukashenko to crack down on opposition. The Belarusian Investigative Committee, the country’s top criminal investigation agency, said its officers had searched the apartments and offices of people suspected of being involved.
The Belarusian opposition party announced the creation of “people’s embassies” to represent Belarus’ interests and counter Belarusian state propaganda in 24 countries, including European Union member states, the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia and Brazil.
Belarusian independent journalist goes on trial in so-called “extremist” case
Investigative committee spokesman Siahei Kabaković said participants in the effort to establish a “fake embassy” were trying to carry out an “information campaign aimed at discrediting our country” and that Belarus’ diplomatic relations It said it was undermining the Belarusian state system by blocking contacts between government officials and foreign officials and institutions. safety.
Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko speaks with Russian President Vladimir Putin during a meeting of the Supreme Council of Federal States on Monday, January 29, 2024 in St. Petersburg, Russia. (Pavel Bednyakov, Sputnik, Kremlin pool photo, via AP, File)
The Investigative Committee said more than 100 Belarusians accused of taking part in the effort could be charged with involvement in “extremist activities” and face up to seven years in prison and confiscation of assets. He said that there is a possibility that
The Viasna human rights group said earlier this month that at least 4,690 people have been convicted on politically motivated charges since the August 2020 presidential election that handed Lukashenko a fifth term and sparked mass protests.
Authorities responded with a crackdown. More than 35,000 people have been arrested, thousands have been beaten by police while in custody, and dozens of non-governmental organizations and independent media outlets have been shut down.
There are currently more than 1,400 political prisoners in Belarus, including Viasna founder and Nobel Peace Prize winner Ales Bialiatsky.
Belarusian exiled opposition leader Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya, under pressure from authorities after challenging Lukashenko in the 2020 vote, said recent attacks on opposition activists reflected Lukashenko’s fears.
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“The new wave of searches and repression in Belarus proves that Lukashenko is frightened by the solidarity and support that leaders and politicians of democracies around the world offer us,” Tikhanovskaya said. told the Associated Press. “While searches, arrests, and trials continue on a conveyor belt in Belarus, hundreds of thousands of Belarusians have fled the country, each one of them a ‘people’s ambassador’ for the country’s democratic future. There is a possibility that it will become.”
