Search Results for: Lukashenko

Human rights group Vesna-96 said Sunday that more than 200 people have been arrested by the Belarus police during crackdowns on protests following the re-election of President Aleksander Lukashenko in August. Elections in Belarus have been condemned by both citizens of the country and international human rights groups since 2004, with opposition leaders often being [...]

A report by the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) alleged Thursday human rights violations during and after the August 9 Belarus presidential election of Aleksander Lukashenko. The allegations of human rights abuses “were found to be massive and systematic and proven beyond doubt.” The report alleges well-documented cases of ill-treatment and torture by [...]

The UN human rights investigator for Belarus said Monday that Belarus needs to “promptly stop repressing its own people” and should establish an independent judicial system to overcome its current political crisis. This call follows demonstrations against President Alexander Lukashenko’s re-election for a sixth term in August, which some claim was rigged. During a presentation [...]

Canada and the UK imposed sanctions against Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko and several other senior officials Tuesday, responding to the rigged election and subsequent violence against protesters. The UK Foreign, Commonwealth and Development office clarified that the sanctions are part of a “coordinated international approach with Canada, in a bid to uphold democratic values and [...]

Twenty-nine countries, including the US, Australia, Germany and Japan, released a joint statement on Thursday condemning the government of Belarus’s reported internet shutdowns and content blocking after the country’s fraudulent 2020 presidential elections. President Alexander Lukashenko, who has served as the Belarusian President for 26 years, was re-elected on August 9. However, the EU rejected [...]

Maria Kolesnikova, an opposition protest leader in Belarus, was charged with undermining Belarus’ national security on Wednesday. She is one of the few major opposition politicians still in Belarus. Since the presidential election, numerous opposition politicians have fled into exile or vanished. Svetlana Tikhanovskaya, who challenged Alexander Lukashenko for the presidency, has fled to Lithuania. [...]

The United Nations Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) urged Belarus Tuesday to end the torture of protestors and enforced disappearances after they received more than 450 documented reports of torture and mistreatment of persons in custody since the August 9 election. The OHCHR)also reminded officials: “ circumstances whatsoever, whether internal political instability or [...]

The Supreme Court of Belarus on Tuesday rejected a complaint filed by former presidential candidate Svetlana Tikhanovskaya that sought to initiate criminal proceedings against the country’s Central Electoral Commission (CEC) for approving the outcome of the countries recent presidential election and for the election’s result to be annulled. The Belarusian presidential elections took place earlier this [...]

Members of the European Council on Wednesday said they do not recognize Belarus’ August 9 election results where President Alexander Lukashenko was re-elected in a landslide victory, claiming 80 percent of the votes. The EU will also impose sanctions against “a substantial number of individuals responsible for violence, repression and the falsification of election results,” which it [...]

The EU has taken its first steps towards imposing sanctions on Belarusian officials who have been cracking down on thousands of citizens protesting last week’s elections following an emergency session on Friday. Sanctions such as visa bans and the freezing of assets are likely to be imposed at the end of the month, following the [...]