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.
NEWS
Support free expression for all
At Index on Censorship, we believe everyone deserves the right to speak freely, challenge power and share ideas without fear. In a world where governments tighten control and algorithms distort the truth, defending those rights is more urgent than ever.
But free speech is not free. Instead we rely on readers like you to keep our journalism independent, our advocacy sharp and our support for writers, artists and dissidents strong.
If you believe in a future where voices aren’t silenced, help us protect it.
At Index on Censorship, we believe everyone deserves the right to speak freely, challenge power and share ideas without fear. In a world where governments tighten control and algorithms distort the truth, defending those rights is more urgent than ever.
But free speech is not free. Instead we rely on readers like you to keep our journalism independent, our advocacy sharp and our support for writers, artists and dissidents strong.
If you believe in a future where voices aren’t silenced, help us protect it.
At Index on Censorship, we believe everyone deserves the right to speak freely, challenge power and share ideas without fear. In a world where governments tighten control and algorithms distort the truth, defending those rights is more urgent than ever.
But free speech is not free. Instead we rely on readers like you to keep our journalism independent, our advocacy sharp and our support for writers, artists and dissidents strong.
If you believe in a future where voices aren’t silenced, help us protect it.
At Index on Censorship, we believe everyone deserves the right to speak freely, challenge power and share ideas without fear. In a world where governments tighten control and algorithms distort the truth, defending those rights is more urgent than ever.
But free speech is not free. Instead we rely on readers like you to keep our journalism independent, our advocacy sharp and our support for writers, artists and dissidents strong.
If you believe in a future where voices aren’t silenced, help us protect it.
At Index on Censorship, we believe everyone deserves the right to speak freely, challenge power and share ideas without fear. In a world where governments tighten control and algorithms distort the truth, defending those rights is more urgent than ever.
But free speech is not free. Instead we rely on readers like you to keep our journalism independent, our advocacy sharp and our support for writers, artists and dissidents strong.
If you believe in a future where voices aren’t silenced, help us protect it.
By Marta Cooper
READ MORE
-
The strange tale of a silenced female Russian rapper
Instasamka, real name Darya Zoteeva, has been targeted both by state authorities and other rappers
-
How the far right has weaponised free speech
A UEA professor and author says it is time to call out the charade and say what Trump and his ilk really want
-
A tale of two cities in the deplatforming of Jewish and Palestinian speakers
Literary festivals and schools should be safe spaces to talk about uncomfortable ideas
-
The Far Right is on the rise in 2026…you have been warned
A conference in Brussels brought together a movement of “patriots” deeply hostile to the European Union and liberal values of free expression
