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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Civil society organisations call for the immediate operationalisation of UN Human Rights Council’s new mandate on Belarus
We, the 63 undersigned Belarusian and international human rights organisations, welcome the resolution passed by the UN Human Rights Council mandating the High Commissioner to create a new robust monitoring and reporting mandate focused on accountability for human rights violations in Belarus that have taken place since 1 May 2020.
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End reprisals against human rights defenders
The Belarusian authorities are conducting a targeted campaign of intimidation against civil society in an effort to silence all critics of the government. Following the disputed presidential election on 9 August 2020, hundreds of thousands of people across the country took to the streets to protest the announced result.
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Judicial harassment against Viasna Human Rights Centre
The Observatory for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders, a partnership of FIDH and the World Organisation Against Torture (OMCT) requests your urgent intervention in the following situation in Belarus.
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Acts of harassment against Viasna Human Rights Centre
The Observatory for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders, a partnership of the World Organisation Against Torture (OMCT) and FIDH requests your urgent intervention in the following situation in Belarus.
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Escalating crackdown on human rights defenders
Starting early this morning, the Belarusian police, State Security Committee (KGB) officers and members of the Main Department for Combating Organized Crime and Corruption have been carrying coordinated searches and arrests of human rights defenders and journalists.
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New charges against Viasna coordinator Marfa Rabkova
The Observatory for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders, a partnership of the World Organisation Against Torture (OMCT) and FIDH, has received new information and requests your urgent intervention in the following situation in Belarus.
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Arbitrary detention of Siarhei Drazdouski and Aleh Hrableuski
The Observatory for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders, a partnership of FIDH and the World Organisation Against Torture (OMCT), requests your urgent intervention in the following situation in Belarus.
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Arbitrary detention of Viasna members Leanid Sudalenka and Tatsiana Lasitsa
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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Hockey world championships pulled from Belarus after backlash over human rights
Following pressure from Belarusian civil society, including athletes, journalists and activists, as well as sponsors and human rights organisations like FIDH and Viasna – its member in Belarus – denouncing state repression of the opposition, the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHR) decided to withdraw the upcoming Ice Hockey World Championships from Minsk.