Search Results for: Lukashenko

Lithuania’s foreign minister Gabrielius Landsbergis and EU foreign-policy chief Josep Borrell accused Belarus of using migrants as a political weapon to put pressure on the EU, at a meeting of EU foreign ministers in Brussels on Monday. Lithuanian officials urged the EU to place a new round of punitive measures on Belarus and its ruler, [...]

A joint statement from the US, Canada, UK and EU on Monday announced the imposition of new, “coordinated sanctions” against Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko’s regime and its “continuing attacks on human rights, fundamental freedoms, and international law.” The new and comprehensive sanctions on Belarusian individuals and entities follow last month’s forced landing of a Ryanair [...]

UN human rights experts on Monday demanded the release of Belarusian dissident Roman Protasevich and an end to the imprisonment and mistreatment of all independent journalists and activists in Belarus, declaring that “media freedom … has entered a black hole with no end in sight.” Last month, a Ryanair passenger jet carrying Protasevich and his [...]

The EU adopted a plan Friday banning Belarus airlines from flying over EU territory or landing in EU airports. Belarus President Alexander Lukashenko’s security forces allegedly reported a false bomb threat on a Ryanair flight from Athens, Greece, to Vilnius, Lithuania. The flight was forced to redirect outside of EU airspace to Minsk, where Belarusian security [...]

The UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) has demanded the immediate release Tuesday of Belarusian journalist Roman Protasevich and his girlfriend Sofia Sapega after their passenger flight was forced to land in Minsk Sunday. Ryanair flight FR4978, carrying Protasevich and Sapega, was forced to divert to Minsk shortly before it crossed [...]

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken condemned the actions of Belarus President Alexander Lukashenko Sunday in detaining opposition journalist Roman Protasevich. Lukashenko’s security forces allegedly reported a false bomb threat on a Ryanair flight from Athens, Greece, to Vilnius, Lithuania. The flight was forced to redirect outside of EU airspace to Minsk, where Belarusian security [...]

The UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC) on Wednesday adopted a resolution for creating a team to investigate Belarus’ excessive use of force and torture during the violent crackdown on the country-wide protests that erupted post the elections in August last year. President Alexander Lukashenko has claimed re-election for his sixth term in the disputed polls [...]

Belarus President Alexander Lukashenko said Thursday that a referendum would be held on constitutional reforms. State-owned news agency BelTA reported that Lukashenko said that whether or not the Belarusian People’s Congress will become a constitutional body has not been settled. However, Lukashenko is reported to have stated that the matter will be part of a draft [...]

Viasna, a non-governmental human rights center in Belarus, said that seven more people were detained in Belarus on Sunday during the traditional weekend protests against President Alexander Lukashenko, who won his sixth term in office in a disputed election. The total number of detainees is now reported to be over twenty people. According to a [...]

UN High Commissioner of Human Rights Michele Bachelet Friday condemned ongoing human rights violations in Belarus and called on the government of that country to release imprisoned protestors. Mass protests erupted in August after President Alexander Lukashenko was declared the winner for a sixth term in a disputed election. Since then, police have cracked down [...]