Mobilising for Justice
in Belarus
The ongoing political crisis in Belarus started in May 2020.
On 25 May 2021, Belarusian teenager Dzmitry Stakhouski jumped to his death from a 16-story building. He was facing criminal charges for participation in peaceful protests between 9-11 August 2020. In his suicide note, the 18-year-old wrote that "the Investigative Committee [main investigating authority in Belarus] is to blame." His story is emblematic of the mental and physical suffering the current regime has inflicted on the thousands of people who dared to speak out for a free and democratic Belarus.
Over the last year, numerous participants in the democratic movement have faced widespread and systematic repression from Aliaksandr Lukashenka’s long-standing authoritarian regime. Thousands of protesters have been detained and prosecuted, with hundreds ill-treated and tortured. Many politicians and leaders of the protest movement have been put behind bars or forced to leave Belarus. Many journalists, lawyers, and human rights activists have been attacked for doing their job. At the same time, not a single criminal case has been brought against those responsible for the violent crackdown, despite numerous reports of police brutality and misconduct.
FIDH, along with its member organisation in Belarus, Viasna Human Rights Center, has been closely monitoring the human rights situation in Belarus over the last year. This page provides detailed insight into the persisting human rights violations and repressions in Belarus.
Monitoring the human rights situation
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Monitoring Events & Reactions
A timeline of events and reactions at the international level dedicated to the human rights crisis in Belarus.
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Exposing Crimes & Furthering Justice
Belarus’ legal system and law enforcement, rather than protecting citizens, have become fearsome tools to repress human rights.
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Defending Human Rights Activists
After the crackdown on the political opposition, the Belarus authorities began to persecute human rights defenders.
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Reporting on Human Rights Violation in Belarus
Reporting on Different Types of Human Rights Violation in Belarus.
Latest
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OBS: Remaining human rights organisations in the country liquidated
In Belarus, the remaining official human rights organisations have been liquidated this week in what marks the complete destruction of the country’s legally registered civil society.
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A birthday letter from Anne Hidalgo, Mayor of Paris, to Ales Bialiatski
On 25 September, Ales Bialiatski, founder and leader of the Human Rights Center "Viasna", celebrates his 59th birthday. Mayor of Paris Anne Hidalgo congratulates him in a letter.
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Withdraw the Lawsuit to Liquidate the Belarusian Helsinki Committee: Joint Open Letter to Minister of Justice of Belarus
Joint letter by International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH), Frontline Defenders, Amnesty International, Human Rights House Foundation, and Human Rights Watch calling the Ministry of Justice of the Republic of Belarus to withdraw the lawsuit to liquidate the Belarusian Helsinki Committee (BHC).
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48th Session of the United Nations Human Rights Council, Item 4: Interactive dialogue on the interim oral update of the OHCHR on the situation of human rights in Belarus
On 24 September 2021, during the 48th Session of the United Nations Human Rights Council, FIDH contributed to the Interactive dialogue on the interim oral update of the OHCHR on the situation of human rights in Belarus.
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International human rights groups demand release of Viasna members on first anniversary of crackdown
On the first anniversary of the unprecedented crackdown on the Human Rights Center Viasna ("Viasna") in Belarus, 23 international and Belarusian human rights organizations are launching a campaign to demand the release of seven detained Viasna members, and highlight the plight of hundreds of others, who have been prosecuted and jailed solely for exercising their rights to peaceful assembly and freedom of expression.
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Release Marfa Rabkova, free all detained Viasna members
The arbitrary arrest and detention of Marfa Rabkova one year ago marked the beginning of the brutal repression against the Human Rights Centre Viasna, which up to now has seven of its members behind bars.
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First hearing in the trial against Leanid Sudalenka, Tatsiana Lasitsa and Maria Tarasenka
The Observatory for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders, a partnership of FIDH and the World Organisation Against Torture (OMCT), has received new information and requests your urgent intervention in the following situation in Belarus.
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Human rights defenders to launch international campaign #FreeViasna
Several key Belarusian and international human rights organizations announced plans to launch an international campaign of solidarity entitled #FreeViasna, following a coordination meeting held in Vilnius on September 6-7.
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Upcoming trial of Leanid Sudalenka, Tatsiana Lasitsa and Maria Tarasenka
The Observatory for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders, a partnership of FIDH and the World Organisation Against Torture (OMCT), has received new information and requests your urgent intervention in the following situation in Belarus.
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One Year of Crackdown on Viasna
17 September 2021 marked one year since the beginning of the crackdown on Viasna, FIDH’s organisation member and Belarus’ leading human rights NGO. Jointly with Viasna, FIDH organised a global rally under the hashtag #FREEVIASNA to stand in solidarity for our imprisoned colleagues and Belarus civil society.