Belarus crackdown targets not just political activists but also their lawyers
For nearly three years, a harsh crackdown on dissent in Belarus by its authoritarian leader Alexander Lukashenko has filled the countryโs penal colonies with thousands of political prisoners, with new arrests reported daily.
Some Ukrainians voice mixed reactions to Nobel prize winners
A day after receiving the Nobel Peace Prize with fellow human rights campaigners from Belarus and Russia, the head of the Ukrainian Center for Civil Liberties praised the work of her fellow laureates but cautioned against lumping the three together in a Cold War-like narrative.
Belarus activist shares โAlternative Nobelโ with 3 others
FILE - In this Saturday, June 21, 2014 file photo, Belarusian human rights advocate Ales Bialiatski is welcomed by his supporters at a railway terminal in Minsk, Belarus. The prominent Belarus opposition figure Ales Bialiatski and leading imprisoned Iranian human rights lawyer Nasrin Sotoudeh have been awarded the 2020 Swedish Right Livelihood Award, sometimes referred to as the Alternative Nobel, along with activists from Nicaragua and the United States. (AP Photo/Dmitry Brushko, File)STOCKHOLM โ A prominent Belarus opposition figure and an imprisoned Iranian human rights lawyer on Thursday were awarded the Right Livelihood Award, sometimes referred to as the โAlternative Nobel,โ together with activists from Nicaragua and the United States. Created in 1980, the annual Right Livelihood Award honors efforts that the prize founder, Swedish-German philanthropist Jakob von Uexkull, felt were being ignored by the Nobel prizes. Earlier recipients of the Right Livelihood Award include Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg.
March of 100,000 marks week 7 of Belarus protests
Protesters with old Belarusian national flags march during an opposition rally to protest the official presidential election results in Minsk, Belarus, Sunday, Sept. 20, 2020. Protests calling for the authoritarian president's resignation broke out after an Aug. 9 election that officials say gave him a sixth term in office and that opponents say was rigged. (AP Photo/TUT.by)KYIV โ Tens of thousands of Belarusians calling for the authoritarian president to resign marched through the capital Sunday as the countryโs wave of protests entered its seventh week. The crowd in Minsk included about 100,000 people, said Ales Bialiatski, head of the Viasna human rights organization. Protests began Aug. 9 after an election that official results say gave President Alexander Lukashenko a sixth term in office; opponents and some poll workers say the results were manipulated.