Religion in Belarus: no conscience, no freedom

March 6th, 2013

In an authoritarian state, the regime uses loyal religious institutions to impose strict control over society and oppress freedom of conscience. Zmitser Yanenka reports from Belarus
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Belarus’s illusion of democracy

September 25th, 2012

Polling day procedure may have been in place, but censorship ruined any chance of a free parliamentary election in Europe’s last dictatorship, says Andrei Aliaksandrau (more…)

Belarus: journalist detained for allegedly slandering president

June 22nd, 2012

Belarusian journalist Andrzej Poczobut was detained last night for allegedly insulting the country’s president, Alexander Lukashenko. Poczobut writes for Polish daily Gazeta Wyborcza, and now faces up to five years in prison. According to his wife, police raided the couple’s apartment, and confiscated the journalist’s computer. Last year, Poczobut was handed a suspended sentence for articles he wrote against Lukashenko. Officers reportedly told his wife that they would “not leave him alone” if he continues to criticise the president.

Belarus: Andrei Sannikov not allowed to leave country

June 7th, 2012

Former Belarusian presidential candidate Andrei Sannikov was removed from a train travelling from Minsk to Vilnius at a station near the Lithuanian border yesterday. The activist, who was released from detention and pardoned by Belarusian president Alexander Lukashenko in April, was reportedly heading to a conference in the Lithuanian capital. On 2 June fellow activist Dmitri Bandarenka was also removed from a train travelling from Vilnius to Minsk. His personal belongings were searched and he was made to strip down to socks. Bandarenka was travelling from Lithuania, where he had received medical treatment, and arrived in Minsk on the next train.

Belarus bans journalists and activists from travelling

March 17th, 2012

Despite official denials, it seems clear that the Lukashenko regime has blacklisted key media and opposition figures, preventing them from leaving the country. Andrei Aliaksandrau reports
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Belarus: European ministers meet activists

December 8th, 2011

UK’s Europe Minister David Liddington visits Human Rights House Viasna alongside Index on Censorship; Irish Foreign Minister Eamon Gilmore emphasizes NGO involvement

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Merkel and Clegg raise Belarus banking concerns

September 30th, 2011

The German chancellor and UK Deputy Prime Minister pledged more action on Belarus’s human rights abuses at a Warsaw summit

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Belarus: Top journalist ‘barred from leaving Belarus’

September 28th, 2011

A journalist who was found guilty of defamation in Belarus has been barred from leaving the country. Andrzej Poczobut, a Polish-Belarusian journalist who writes for top daily newspaper Gazeta Wyborcza, was found guilty of defaming President Alexander Lukashenko in July, and was given a three-year suspended sentence. Poczobut claims he was recently summoned to a police station in  Homel, where he was instructed that as a convict he has no right to travel abroad. Poczobut wrote in his blog regarding the travel ban: “That is not mentioned either in my verdict or in the Criminal Code.”