I am endlessly proud of Belarusians who keep fighting no matter what. Unprecedented and brutal repressions don’t allow them to openly protest but people always find a way. Yesterday, they celebrated New Year by shouting Long Love #Belarus from their windows. Victory will come
#Belarus Pensioner Alena Hnauk has been detained again. She is accused of protesting - the picture with white and red towels shows what police found as "evidence." Alena was already sentenced to 2 years of restricted freedom under home confinement
#Belarus Do not cross Belarusian women. Residents of the village Ahova in the Brest region are trying to defend ancient oaks at a local cemetery. Previously,Aliaksandr Dziamchuk,the director of the Culture House who collected signatures for the preservation of trees, was detained
Volha Takarchuk, a prominent blogger, is now on trial. She was charged with three articles of the criminal code. This is insane. She must be released. She was previously detained several times but decided not to leave #Belarus. She and her husband have two children, ages 3 and 7
#Belarus That’s what police leave after the mass wave of searches in people’s apartments and organisations. I am amazed by Belarusians.
Of course there is fear. But they keep showing that they are stronger by not giving up,by laughing at police,by being united,creative,resilient
EU sanctions on the #Belarus regime:
- Close the loopholes (oil and potash)
- Expand sectoral sanctions on steel and wood industries
- Sanction 5 state-owned banks, Beltelecom (Internet censorship), Belaruskali
- Add judges, prosecutors and moneybags to the list
‼️Make it fast
Somebody I met recently said that her husband is in the KGB prison. She focuses on work and she does what she can.But I am absolutely confident that every day she worries about his safety,health and life.We try to make our lives look normal, but stress and fear are always with us
Congratulations to @mariaressa and Dmitry Muratov from @novaya_gazeta for the #NobelPeacePrize and their courageous fight for freedom of expression in the Philippines and Russia. Journalists indeed deserve this award. I hope this will protect all media workers around the world
@HannaLiubakova@LRTenglish Thank you, Hanna! Laurynas and I enjoyed learning your and Lesia’s perspective. At @EESC_LT we are committed to do more of #Belarus studies and raising further awareness on the matter in Lithuania
#Belarus Nothing, nothing will stop these strong and brave Belarusian women from coming out to the streets of Minsk. It is nearly impossible to self-organise in Belarus without facing a prison term. But somehow people remain resilient despite the unprecedented level of repression
#Belarus How inhumane and unfair. Pavel Sibilev is a bus driver who was seriously wounded by a stun grenade and rubber bullets last August. He never fully recovered,got a disability and now cancer. No security forces were found guilty.
It is so painful to listen to these people
Exactly 30 years ago, the white-red-white flag and historic coat of arms Pahonia became state symbols. Even though in 1995, Lukashenko held a referendum to change the symbols, people widely used them during protests last year. These days, it is a symbol of the new #Belarus
Both are brilliant professionals - Maria is a musician, Max is a lawyer.Both believe in democracy & the rule of law and want change in #Belarus. By sentencing them,the regime shows its weakness and fear.If not stopped,#Lukashenko will jail more people.He will escalate repressions