Belarus

Olga Karatch, journalist and human and women’s rights activist fled Belarus to avoid being arrested on charges of terrorism, for which she is facing a death sentence. Lithuania, where she has taken refuge, has rejected her request for political asylum…

SMS Peretola, via Pratese 48, Florence The peace movement has concretely supported Russian Belarusian and Ukrainian conscientious objectors, deserters and draft dodgers who are denied the right not to kill or fight, a right that should be universally recognized. Italy…

Good news from Lithuania for the Belarusian objector: Vitali is free again as of today, pending appeal. Dvarashyn Vitali, the Belarusian conscientious objector who had been locked up in the Lithuanian refugee camp in Vilnius due to the revocation of…

In recent days, there has been a sharp escalation of conflict in our region, including the spillover of military actions into Russian territory. By Olga Karach We will refrain from reiterating the widely known facts regarding the “liberation” marsh by…

After Ukraine and Russia, Belarus is also recording the first cases of political conscientious objectors refusing to participate in military mobilization for the ongoing war. Dvarashyn Vitali is an objector supported by nonviolent movements and he is facing the prospect…

In the framework of the #ObjectWarCampaign (Russia, Belarus, Ukraine: Protection and asylum for deserters and conscientious objectors to military service), the International Fellowship of Reconciliation (IFOR), War Resisters’ International (WRI), the European Bureau for Conscientious Objection (EBCO), and Connection e.V. (Germany), call for actions at the Ukrainian and Russian embassies…

“Downing aircraft to pursue the arrest of dissidents has always been outrageous,” the NSA whistleblower said Monday. By Kenny Stancil While the dramatic arrest of dissident journalist Roman Protasevich by the Belarusian government over the weekend was fiercely condemned worldwide, press freedom advocates…

In just a few months the opposition figure went from unknown stay-at-home mom to the leader of democratic Belarus. She told DW she’s proud of both roles, and says that for millions of women, “the inner strength awoke.” Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya was a political…

Helicopters in the United States. Bullets in Nigeria. Security forces in Belarus. Water cannon in Thailand. Countries around the world sought to quash peaceful protest in 2020, before and after the pandemic, but people seeking freedom and demanding change took…

The human rights situation in Belarus continues to deteriorate, particularly with respect to peaceful assembly, the UN rights chief said on Friday, urging the government to put an end to ongoing violations and “take steps towards a genuine, respectful and…