police brutality
Latest
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Documentary "We Have Not Lived in Vain": the protests in Belarus through the eyes of LGBTQ+ activists
In the film by Nick Antipov and Bart Staszewski, three participants of the Belarusian protests and representatives of the country’s LGBTQ+ community share their experiences, feelings, and aspirations.
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Mobilising for Justice in Belarus: FIDH Launches Website Tracking Systematic Human Rights Violations
Since May 2020, the administration of Aliaksandr Lukashenka, the de facto president of Belarus, has intensified repression, aiming to crush the country’s democratic movement.
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At least 422 detained during the Freedom Day protests
Lukashenka’s administration continues its crackdown on Belarusian civil society with new arbitrary detentions, as the protests regain momentum this spring. FIDH condemns in the strongest terms the violent dispersal of peaceful protesters on 25 and 27 March and urges the Belarus authorities to stop obstructing Belarus citizens’ exercise of their legitimate right of peaceful assembly.
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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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Webinar: Belarus - Torture and impunity policies, the response of the UN Human Rights Council
The webinar was live on September 17, 2020.
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Valiantsin Stefanovic: "Today we acknowledge a deep crisis of human rights in Belarus"
On 4 September 2020, Valiantsin Stefanovic, Vice-President of the FIDH and Vice-Chairman of Viasna, a Minsk-based Human Rights Center, spoke at the United Nations Security Council Arria-Formula Meeting on Human Rights in Belarus.
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A Strong International Reaction is Needed to Prevent Further Violence Against Civil Society
On August 26, human rights organisations adressed an open letter, calling on the UN Human Rights Council (HRC) to urgently convene a Special Session to address the Belarus government’s crackdown on peaceful demonstrators and other ongoing, widespread violations of human rights, including arbitrary arrests, prosecutions under trumped-up charges, and torture and other ill-treatment, in relation to the 2020 presidential elections.
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Human Rights NGOs Call for an End to Torture and Arbitrary Arrests of Peaceful Protesters
On August 24, FIDH, The Human Rights Center “Viasna”, the Belarus Helsinki Committee (BHC) and the World Organisation Against Torture (OMCT) wrote an open letter to the UN Special Rapporteur on Torture about the widespread torture and arbitrary arrest of peaceful protesters in Belarus (9 to 14 August 2020)
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As Protests Continue Ahead of Presidential Election, Authorities Must Refrain from Violence
The 2020 presidential election season in Belarus has been marked by an unprecedented level of protest activity and a harsh response from authorities. In addition to police violence and arbitrary arrests of peaceful protesters, since the end of July the government has been mobilising the military in an attempt to curb protesters’ activities and intimidate the opposition.
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Crackdown on Peaceful Protesters Marks Beginning of Presidential Campaign Season in Belarus
The campaign season for Belarus’ presidential elections, scheduled for August 9, saw sweeping repression against civil society by authorities. Over the past week, authorities arbitrarily detained over 100 peaceful protesters across Belarus, charging them with administrative fines and arrests.